Portraits Philosophy Questions

1.What strikes you most prominently about this portrait? 2. How do you think Sargent felt about Madame X? 3. Do you think this is a beautiful painting? What accounts for its beauty 4. If you discovered that this painting caused a scandal, how would that change your understanding of it?      1. What features of this portrait stand out? 2. How do you think Matisse felt about the woman in the portrait? 3. If you discovered that the woman was Matisse’s wife, how would that affect your understanding of the painting? 4. Is this painting beautiful? Is Mme. Matisse beautiful? Does that matter?       Michael Borges Study, Kehinde Wiley, 2008      

5.  Some philosophers maintain that our knowledge of our own minds is different than our knowledge of the minds of others. Do you think this is true? That is, do you know your own state of mind in a different way than you know the state of mind of others? Is your knowledge of yourself more certain than you knowledge of others? In what ways if any? Are there features of a self-portrait that distinguish it from a portrait of someone else? Are these related to the difference between self-knowledge and knowledge of other people’s minds?

 

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