(Allen Speight) The Philosophical Challenge of Early Art

Professor Speight, Director of Graduate Admissions at Boston University and a graduate of St. John's College in Annapolis, will deliver his lecture, The Philosophical Challenge of Early Art. Since the modern discovery of Paleolithic cave art in 1879, scholars have pondered its origin and significance. The remarkable paintings and etchings that line the walls of caves at Altamira, Lascaux and Chauvet and hundreds of other sites around the world prompt both wonder and reflection: what can images produced tens of thousands of years ago tell us about the nature of human making and our responses to it? This lecture will explore a range of philosophical questions posed by early art, including the nature of mimesis, the roles of sight and touch, and the relation between symbol and figurative art.