Against Melancholy Madness: The Duty of Artists

Abstract

Abstract In this paper I explain what the duty of artists could be according to the philosopher R.G. Collingwood. My aim is not only to focus on Collingwood’s writings on the philosophy of art, but to show the parallel between the concepts used in his aesthetics and his ethics. In fact, the major role of “emotion” in both his art and moral theory gives me the occasion to develop an understanding of artists’ tasks within their communities. Moreover, it provides an occasion to define what, for Collingwood, the subject of ethics is and to explore an almost uncharted part of his work: his “Lectures on Moral Philosophy” delivered from 1921 to 1940.