THE FUTURE OF THE WORK OF ART AND ITS REALIST PROBLEM
A response to the question of an art without humans
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26807/cav.v11i21.705Keywords:
art without humans, speculative realism, aesthetics, quentin meillassoux, rock art cavesAbstract
The present article seeks to properly tematize the question of the possibility of an art without humans in order to establish the conditions under which it can constitute a philosophical problem and admit a possible response. To this end, it advances a specific notion of problem, which requires a critical exposition and discussion of problematology within continental philosophy. On this basis, and through a defense of the speculative realism of Quentin Meillassoux, the article argues for the realist charge implied in the literal formulation of the question of an art without humans. Finally, after distinguishing the possible interpretations of this question, it maintains that it invokes the aesthetic dimension of the problem of extinction and proposes a way forward through consideration of the artistic status of yet-undiscovered cave paintings.
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