Welcome to another episode of Armchair Gaming. The goal for this show is simple: I want to help you learn more about philosophy, and I’ll be using video games as an instrument to help teach it.
Today we will be taking our first look at art, Philosophy of Art and the Beautiful.
In previous episodes we have looked for philosophical themes in games themselves. In this episode, we will be taking a look at the game industry as a whole, to address the argument of video games as a medium of art.
In order to argue for the inclusion (or exclusion) of Video Games as a form of art, we must first discuss what art is. Today as we play Call of Duty: World War II we will be evaluating definitions of art, engaging in a sort of Socratic method as we attempt to carve out a definition of art that satisfies the majority opinion. In establishing a satisfactory definition, we will find ourselves in position to establish Video Games as a part of the art world, regardless of subject matter.
About Armchair Gaming
I had the chance to explore philosophy in high school and I loved it so much that I went on to study it at Trent University, where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in philosophy. I feel so strongly about the subject that I often find myself going through the books I had purchased over my university career, as well as adding to the collection regularly.
Philosophy is an amazingly exciting subject that can teach us not just what to think, but how to think. Unfortunately, a lot of people see philosophy as some intimidating monster, with difficult concepts and theories to grasp. Conversely, some see it as a waste of someone’s time and intellect. As someone who has dedicated their life to the subject, this Scholarly Gamer wants to bring philosophy to you in a way that is approachable, sometimes funny, and presented through a medium of great importance to himself and millions of other people around the world: Games.
I hope you’ll join us on this journey. And remember, you never go a day in your life without living some philosophy.
