![Daisy Dixon](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/136?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
I am a Lecturer in Philosophy, specialising in philosophy of art. I research the nature of artwork-meaning, and the idea of art as a kind of speech. My teaching interests span aesthetics, philosophy of language, political philosophy and feminist philosophy.
Publication
2023
- Dixon, D. 2023. Honouring and admiring the immoral: an ethical guide. Drawing the line: what to do with the work of immoral artists from museums to the movies. Philosophical Quarterly 73(3), pp. 831–837. (10.1093/pq/pqad021)
2022
- Dixon, D. 2022. Artistic (counter) speech. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 80(4), pp. 409-419. (10.1093/jaac/kpac038)
- Dixon, D. 2022. Novel assertions: A reply to Mahon. British Journal of Aesthetics 62(1), pp. 115-124. (10.1093/aesthj/ayab017)
2021
- Dixon, D. 2021. The whole picture: the colonial story of the art in our museums & why we need to talk about it. The British Journal of Aesthetics 61(3), pp. 395–399. (10.1093/aesthj/ayaa056)
- Dixon, D. 2021. The artistic metaphor. Philosophy 96(1), pp. 1-25. (10.1017/S0031819120000273)
2020
- Dixon, D. 2020. Lies in art. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 100(1), pp. 25-39. (10.1080/00048402.2020.1844772)
2019
- Dixon, D. 2019. Alterpieces: Artworks as shifting speech acts. PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge.
Articles
- Dixon, D. 2023. Honouring and admiring the immoral: an ethical guide. Drawing the line: what to do with the work of immoral artists from museums to the movies. Philosophical Quarterly 73(3), pp. 831–837. (10.1093/pq/pqad021)
- Dixon, D. 2022. Artistic (counter) speech. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 80(4), pp. 409-419. (10.1093/jaac/kpac038)
- Dixon, D. 2022. Novel assertions: A reply to Mahon. British Journal of Aesthetics 62(1), pp. 115-124. (10.1093/aesthj/ayab017)
- Dixon, D. 2021. The whole picture: the colonial story of the art in our museums & why we need to talk about it. The British Journal of Aesthetics 61(3), pp. 395–399. (10.1093/aesthj/ayaa056)
- Dixon, D. 2021. The artistic metaphor. Philosophy 96(1), pp. 1-25. (10.1017/S0031819120000273)
- Dixon, D. 2020. Lies in art. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 100(1), pp. 25-39. (10.1080/00048402.2020.1844772)
Thesis
- Dixon, D. 2019. Alterpieces: Artworks as shifting speech acts. PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge.
Research
Should we display art by immoral artists? How can a painting be harmful? Should we censor problematic art?
Our creative and cultural industries are integral to personal and group identity, which is why the art we make and the way we display it is so important to how we express ourselves and present marginalised narratives. I strongly believe that analytic philosophy can offer vital clarity and answers to problems currently being faced by cultural industries. Philosophical research at the intersection of aesthetics, ethics, and political philosophy is crucial to carefully answering sensitive questions about immoral art and artists and ethical curation, paving the way to more egalitarian curation and dynamic, critical museum spaces.
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It is known that our verbal speech has the power to oppress and liberate social groups. My research in philosophy of art explores how visual art also has this capacity to shape society: through what it says, and through what it does. My work spans philosophy of art, aesthetics, philosophy of language, and political philosophy, and explores the vital intersections of these disciplines to reveal the power and significance of art for humanity. My research explores how visual art behaves like, or as, speech, and the ethical and political dimensions of this. I argue that artworks have propositional meaning, can perform speech acts, are sensitive to curatorial context, and can tell lies. In recent work I explore how art can form oppressive speech, aesthetic mitigation of art-based hate speech, and the nature of aesthetic (in)justice.
Teaching
Autumn Semester 22/23: SE4358 Philosophy of Language
Spring semester 22/23: SE4434 Aesthetic Injustice