ART, MIND, LANGUAGE

The course aims to explore the relationship between art, mind, and language by examining the concept of pictorial representation. It is part of the Master’s Degree Programme in Philosophical Sciences, where it is included in the “Institutions of Philosophy” as a characterising activity. Starting from 2025–2026, it is part of the curriculum of the degree course in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology, Ethnoliguistics. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, it is also open to students in other degree programmes, particularly those interested in the connections between aesthetics, art history and art theory, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind.

The student, on successful completion of this module, will be able to (or should be able to):

1. grasp the main positions in the contemporary debate on pictorial representation (knowledge and understanding);
2. distill the logical and argumentative processes of the various theories examined and apply them in new contexts (applying knowledge and understanding);
3. critically evaluate a philosophical theory (making judgments).

No one in particular. The course is introductory in nature and is intended for a broad audience; therefore, each topic will be covered starting with the basics.

The main aim of the course is to introduce students to a philosophical debate that originated from the art historian Ernst H. Gombrich, but has developed within analytic philosophy. We will therefore address the problem of pictorial representation, a philosophical issue that arises from some seemingly very trivial questions, namely: how do pictures show us their subjects? How can we say that in a drawing or a painting we see exactly the subject that the picture intends to show us and not another subject? In a word, how do pictures represent?

LIST A. Primary literature:
1) Abell C. (2009), Canny Resemblance, in “The Philosophical Review”, 118, 2, pp. 183-223 (here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41441877 ).
2) Gombrich, E.H. (1960), Art and Illusion. A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation, Pantheon Books, New York (or any other edition), "Introduction" and "Part One" (BAUM, 701.15 GOMBE ARTE).
3) Gombrich, E.H. (1963), Meditations on a Hobby Horse and other Essays on the Theory of Art, Phaidon Press, London (or any other edition), "Meditations on a Hobby Horse or the Roots of Artistic Form" (BAUM, DEPOSITO: DEP 09298).
4) Goodman, N. (1968), Languages of Art. An Approach to a Theory of Symbols, Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis (or any other edition), cap. IV, "The Theory of Notation" (BAUM, DEPOSITO: DEP 03621).
5) Hyman, J. (2006), The Objective Eye. Color, Form, and Reality in the Theory of Art, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, cap. V, pp. 73-112.
6) Wollheim, R. (1980), Seeing-as, Seeing-in, and Pictorial Representation, in Id., Art and its Objects, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2a ed.

LIST B. Introduction to the course topics:
1) Cavazzana, A. (2025), Come rappresentano le immagini. La raffigurazione nel dibattito filosofico contemporaneo, Carocci, Roma (selected pages) (BAUM, 121.3 CAVAA).
2) Voltolini, A. (2013), Immagine, Il Mulino, Bologna (selected pages) (BAUM, CONS-B C103 A 2.10).

LIST C. Other essays:
1) Caldarola, E. (2024), How Abstract Images Have Aboutness, in C. Ambrosio, J. Sánchez-Dorado (eds.), Abstraction in Science and Art: Philosophical Perspectives, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 30-50 (open access here: https://iris.unito.it/retrieve/b645597e-057d-4df1-87c9-7e238e185e16/12.CaldarolaAbstractImages24Preprint%20copia.pdf ).
2) Carroll N. (2001), Visual Metaphor, in Id., Beyond Aesthetics: Philosophical Essays, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 347-68 (BAUM, 111.85 CARRN).
3) Ferretti, G. (2019), The Neural Dynamics of Seeing-In, in “Erkenntnis”, 84, 6, pp. 1285-324 (here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45237941 ).
4) Nanay, B. (2016), The History of Vision, in Id., Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 136-59 (open access here: https://academic.oup.com/book/3110/chapter/143937243 ).
5) Nanay, B. (2023), Mental Imagery in Art, in Id., Mental Imagery: Philosophy, Psychology, Neuroscience, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 239-50 (open access here: https://academic.oup.com/book/51673/chapter/419705057 ).
6) Voltolini, A. (2026), The Limitations of Depiction: The Flag Problem, in “Debates in Aesthetics”, 20, 1, pp. 5-21 (open access here: https://debatesinaesthetics.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Voltolini.pdf ).

The moodle space will contain all the updated informations, for which consultation and follow-ups are recommended.

Oral examination based on questions relating to the texts selected for the course, specifically:
- 2 texts of your choice from List A;
- all texts from List B;
- 1 text of your choice from List C.

The exam will be graded on a scale of 30. 70% of the grade will be based on the results of the oral exam, while the remaining 30% will be based on the quality of the student’s in-class presentation of an essay from List C.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

17: FAIL
18-20: PASS
The essential topics and content of the course have been acquired; the ability to articulate the fundamental issues of the course is essential. There is a lack of confident and articulate elaboration of the proposed topics and a complete mastery of the theoretical assumptions.
21-23: SATISFACTORY
Knowledge of the content is adequate, although not in-depth, and the vocabulary is appropriate, although not articulated through independent critical reflection. Expression and vocabulary can be improved to achieve complete argumentative ability.
24-26 GOOD
Knowledge and understanding of the content is confident, precise and competent. There are no errors or shortcomings in preparation and argumentative choices. The answers are adequately resolved with respect to the fundamental issues of the course.
27-28 VERY GOOD
The content and issues of the course are addressed with confidence in knowledge, elaborating the main issues of the course in a confident and independent manner, with personal insights. The vocabulary is clear and adequate. Knowledge is comprehensive and interdisciplinary connections are confident.
29-30 EXCELLENT
The understanding demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the content in its complexity, through a confident interdisciplinary awareness, with independent conceptual articulation, comparative skills and analysis consistent with the content. The preparation is complete and extensive, and all knowledge is achieved with complete mastery.
30 CUM LAUDE EXCELLENT
The competence acquired is expressed in a highly relevant manner, according to connections and comparisons that demonstrate, together with a confident command of knowledge, a quality of analysis that is particularly thorough and relevant to the issues addressed. Critical awareness demonstrates independent research work with a deeply mature and conscious logical and argumentative rigour.

The main teaching methods are the lecture and the lecture-discussion. Depending on the number of participants, seminar activities will be organized during the second half of the course, which may include students presenting a paper of their choice from List C.

- For those who choose not to attend the course, an interview with the lecturer is recommended: alessandro.cavazzana@unive.it
- For problems with disabilities or specific learning disorders, students may contact the Disability and DSA office: disabilita@unive.it

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development