Essay

Write an argument to support the following: Vice impairs (or harms) the aesthetic sense and judgment of an individual.

 Note that, I don't need you to agree with Scruton, I just want you to be able to understand him. This is a good way to do that, namely, make this argument as strongly as you can. 

If you have any questions about that don't hesitate to let me know.

Now, as I will talk about more in the essay prep lecture, one relatively simple way to proceed in this argument is to pick a particular vice (like lustful-ness, greed, intemperance, anger, pride, etc.) and explain why a person who is inclined to that vice is impaired from seeing beauty in art or nature. Scruton's work in Chapter 7 presents a powerful argument about how that would look in the case of a lustful person who seeks to see the beauty of persons in art. The habits of lust cause him or her to look at people as objects rather than subjects (to put it simply). Similarly, one could argue that an intemperate person would be a poor judge of art that depicts temperance and or intemperance. Even if the intemperate person dislikes his own vice, and can recognize it in art, can he aesthetically appreciate it? It seems not, since his passions would get in the way.

I will explain this thinking more in my essay prep lecture, but I wanted you to have something written to be able to refer to and to help you get the creative ball rolling, so to speak.

This essay should be about 500 words. MLA should be the format. Be sure to make any citations clear (give page numbers for any text taken from Scruton's book). 

This essay should be about 500 words. MLA should be the format. Be sure to make any citations clear (give page numbers for any text taken from Scruton's book).  

I have attached a pdf of the book that you need to focus on. Please stay inside the textbook when you write the essay. The name of the book is Beauty: A Short Introduction by Roger Scruton. You can find the whole pdf of the book online. I hope you will do it with great responsibility. Thank You