Online research in philosophy

• home page

• Faculty, Appalachian State University
• PhD, King's College London, 2007.

• Aesthetics
• Philosophy of Mind

• Aesthetics
• Philosophy of Mind
• 17th/18th Century Philosophy
• Cognitive Sciences
• Meta-Ethics
• Philosophy of Cognitive Science

My philosophical views

My research interests primarily lie within aesthetics and philosophy of perception. Within the field of aesthetics, I am particularly interested in the philosophy of music -- the ontology of musical works, musical understanding, the relationship (or lack thereof) between music and language, and philosophy of musical perception. I also have interests in general aesthetics as well as the interrelations between aesthetics and ethics. Within the field of perception, I am particularly interested in examining the nature of auditory experience and developing an account of the representation of the contents of auditory experience. Perhaps controversially, I do not see a sharp distinction between my work in aesthetics and my work in perception. I am currently working on a series of essays designed to demonstrate how much contemporary work in the cognitive science of music could be employed to solve some of the central problems in philosophy of music.

9 items found. Sort by: publication yearfirst authorviewingsaddition date Christopher Bartel (forthcoming). Resolving the Gamer's Dilemma. Ethics and Information Technology:-. Morgan Luck raises a potentially troubling problem for gamers who enjoy video games that allow the player to commit acts of virtual murder. The problem simply is that the arguments typically advanced to defend virtual murder in video games would appear to also support video games that allowed gamers to commit acts of virtual paedophilia. Luck’s arguments are persuasive, however, there is one line of argument that he does not consider, which may provide the relevant distinction: as virtual paedophilia involves (...) the depiction of sexual acts involving children, it is therefore an instance of child pornography. I argue that virtual paedophilia involves the depiction of sexual acts involving children, which amounts to child pornography. I then draw on arguments to show that child pornography is morally objectionable. Finally, depictions of virtual murder are not instances of pornography, and so are not morally objectionable for this reason. So, there is a relevant moral distinction to draw between virtual murder and virtual paedophilia that is able to justify the former but not the latter. (shrink) Computer Ethics, Misc in Applied Ethics Feminism: Pornography in Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality Technology Ethics, Misc in Applied Ethics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2011). Music Without Metaphysics? British Journal of Aesthetics 51 (4):383-398. In a recent pair of articles, Aaron Ridley and Andrew Kania have debated the merits of the study of musical ontology. Ridley contends that the study of musical ontology is orthogonal to more pressing concerns over the value of music. Kania rejects this, arguing that a theory of the value of music must begin with an understanding of the ontology of music. In this essay, I will argue that, despite Kania's rejections, Ridley's criticism exposes a false methodological assumption that needs (...) to be addressed—a poorly understood adherence to the priority of ontology, which is the belief that the resolution of ontological disputes must precede our understanding of the evaluation of musical performances. I will argue that there is a central claim at the heart of Ridley's criticisms that must be appreciated—that standard accounts of the ontology of music make unwarranted assumptions about the rigidity of the identification of musical performances—and yet Kania is right to claim that the resolution of some ontological questions will play some role in our evaluation of musical performances. I will argue that part of the disagreement between Ridley and Kania can be resolved by accepting a greatly weakened version of the priority of ontology. (shrink) Musical Works in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: bjaesthetics.oxfordjournals.org dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2010). The 'Fine Art' of Pornography? In Dave Monroe (ed.), Porn: Philosophy for Everyone. Wiley-Blackwell. Can pornographic depictions have artistic value? Much pornography closely resembles art, at least in many superficial respects. Films, photographs, paintings—all of these can have artistic value. Of course, films, photographs and paintings can also be pornographic. If some photographs have artistic value, and some photographs are pornographic, can pornographic photographs have artistic value too? I argue that pornography may only possess artistic value despite, not by virtue of, its pornographic content. Pornography in Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality The Value of Art in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2010). The Performance of Reading. [REVIEW] Philosophical Quarterly 60 (238):220-222. Literary Interpretation in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: blackwell-synergy.com dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2010). Why Music Moves Us - Jeanette Bicknell. [REVIEW] Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 68 (3):317-319. Music and Emotion in Aesthetics Musical Experience, Misc in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2009). Works of Music – Julian Dodd. Philosophical Quarterly 59 (237):760-762. Musical Works in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: blackwell-synergy.com dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2008). Listening to Popular Music. [REVIEW] British Journal of Aesthetics 48 (3):357-359. Philosophy of Music, Misc in Aesthetics Popular Music in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2005). Art and Value. [REVIEW] British Journal of Aesthetics 45 (1):94-96. Art and Artworks, Misc in Aesthetics The Definition of Art in Aesthetics The Value of Art in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ... Christopher Bartel (2004). Is Art Good for Us? Beliefs About High Culture in American Life. British Journal of Aesthetics 44 (1):93-96. Aesthetics and Culture in Aesthetics History of Aesthetics in Aesthetics The Value of Art in Aesthetics Reading list   |  Discuss  |  Edit  |  Categorize  |     My bibliography  |   Export citation  | Other links: bjaesthetics.oupjournals.org dx.doi.org   | Scholar | At my library | More options ...

Is this list right? BibTeX / EndNote / RIS / etc Export this page: Choose a format.. Formatted textPlain textBibTeXZoteroEndNoteReference Manager Limit to items. Viewing options show categories categorization shortcuts hide abstracts open articles in new windows Off-campus access Using PhilPapers from home? Click here to configure this browser for off-campus access. Monitor this page Be alerted of all new items appearing on this page. Choose how you want to monitor it: Email   RSS feed About PhilPapers Institute of Philosophy School of Advanced Study University of London Centre for Consciousness Australian National University General Editors: David Bourget (London) David Chalmers (ANU, NYU) Area Editors: Anthony Beavers David Bourget Berit Brogaard Thom Brooks Margaret Cameron David Chalmers Gabriele Contessa Rafael De Clercq Catarina Dutilh Novaes Farhang Erfani Pablo Gilabert Hans Halvorson Jonathan Ichikawa Jonathan Kvanvig Øystein Linnebo JeeLoo Liu Paul Livingston Brandon Look Michiru Nagatsu Susana Nuccetelli Gualtiero Piccinini Darrell Rowbottom Constantine Sandis Jonathan Schaffer Thomas Senor Robin Smith Robert Sparrow Daniel Star Jussi Suikkanen Lynne Tirrell John Simpson Wilkins Other editors Contact us Learn more about PhilPapers