Dr Jennifer (Jenny) McMahon

Qualifications

1997: PhD Philosophy, The Australian National University.

1991: Masters by Research, University of Melbourne.

1986-87: Masters Coursework, University of Melbourne.

1979: Diploma of Education, University of Melbourne.

1978: Bachelor of Fine Art, RMIT University, Melbourne

 

Teaching Interests

Philosophy of Art,

Kant's Critique of Judgment,

Beauty: Pleasures and Principles (value theory),

American Pragmatism,

Ancient Philosophy,

History of Ideas (Critical Theory),

Methods of Argumentation.

 

Research Interests

Aesthetic Value (intersection of aesthetics and meta-ethics) 

Philosophy of Art (Ontology),

Normative Pragmatics (Language and art),

Aesthetic Judgment (Kant, eighteenth and nineteenth century, Critical Theory)

Ancient Stoics and Epicureans (value theory)

 

Publications

Books

Sole Authored Monograph

2009: Aesthetics and Material Beauty: Aesthetics Naturalized. New York & London: Routledge (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy series) Paperback edition.

2007: Aesthetics and Material Beauty: Aesthetics Naturalized. New York & London: Routledge (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy series) Hardback edition.

 

Chapters

Sole Author

(2007) It is not the visual animal in us that explains our capacity for art. In Ian North (Ed) Visual Animals: Crossovers, Evolution and New Aesthetics. Adelaide: Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia.

(2005). Beauty in Berys Gaut and Dominic Lopes (eds), The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics (London: Routledge): 307-19.

(2001). Beauty in Berys Gaut and Dominic Lopes (eds), The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics (London: Routledge): 227-38.

 

Journal Articles 

sole author 

Forthcoming: Critical Aesthetic Realism, Journal of Aesthetic Education (University of Illinois Press).

(2008-09)  Backing Kant with Interest: A Global Concept of Art, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 9:1/2. (Issue on 21st Century Art History): pp.90-99.

(2008) The Romantic Spirit, Artlink 28: 2 Issue on Art, Beauty, Mind; ed. Margot Osborne: pp.13-15.

(2007) The Significance of Plato's Notions of Beauty and Pleasure in the Philosophy of Kant, Greek Research in Australia: Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial International Conference Of Greek Studies, Flinders University, pp.27-34.

(2006). The Perceptual Constraints on Pictorial Realism, Contemporary Aesthetics, Vol.4, http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/journal.php

(2006) The Introduction to A Symposium on Pictorial Realism, Contemporary Aesthetics, Vol.4, http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/journal.php

(2003). Perceptual Constraints and Perceptual Schemata: The Possibility of Perceptual Style, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (Blackwell Publishing). 61:3, summer, 259-72.

(2002). An Explanation for Normal and Anomalous Drawing Ability and Some Implications for Research on Perception and Imagery, Visual Arts Research, (University of Illinois) 28:1 (55), 38-52.

(2000) Perceptual Principles as the Basis for Genuine Judgments of Beauty, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 7: 8-9, 29-35

(1999) Towards a Unified Theory of Beauty, Literature and Aesthetics, 9: 7-27.

(1998) The Nature of Pictorial Representation: The Evidence from Cognitive Science, Australian Art Education (The Journal of the Australian Institute of Art Education), 21: 2, 27-35.

(1998) An Unlikely Partnership: Philosophical Aesthetics and Educational Theory, Proceedings of the National Conference on Education,  Australian College of Education, Canberra.

(1996) Aesthetic Perception, Communication and Cognition (a special volume on Epistemology and Psychology), 29: 1, 37-64

(1993) The Rationality of the Innate Foundations of Aesthetic Response, Australian Art Education, Australian Art Education, University of New South Wales, 16: 3, 18-28.

(1989) Dewey's Educational Theory: The Relevance For Art Education, Australian Art Education, University of New South Wales, 13: 1, 11-16.

Joint Author Articles

(2006) Vickers, D., Lee, M.D., Dry, M., Hughes, P., & McMahon, J.A. The aesthetic appeal of minimal structures: Judging the attractiveness of solutions to Traveling Salesperson problems, Perception & Psychophysics, 68:1, 32-42

 

Other

(2009)  'Of Being Beautifully Human', Catalogue Essay for This Life, Contemporary Visual Art Projects SA 2009: Project 8, Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia.

 

Book Reviews

(2009) Review of Mark Johnson The Meaning of the Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding (University of Chicago Press 2007) in Mind 118: 471, pp.843-46.

(2006) Review of K. Matthews Revealing Art (Routledge 2005) in Philosophical Quarterly 56: 224, 471-73.

(2006) Review of T. Heyd and J. Clegg (eds) Aesthetics and Rock Art (Ashgate, 2005) in British Journal of Aesthetics 46:2 , 208-10.

(2002) Review of Nick Zangwill, The Metaphysics of Beauty (Cambridge University Press, 2001) in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 60:4, 358-60.

(2002) Review of Paul Thom, Making Sense (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000) in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 80:1, 107-09.

(2001) Review of James Elkins. Our Beautiful; Dry and Distant Texts, Art History as Writing (Penn State University Press, 1997) in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 79: 1, 142-143.

(2001) James Kirwan, Beauty (Manchester University Press, 1999) in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 59:3, 334-336.

(2000) Commentary on Semir Zeki's Inner Vision: An Exploration of Art and the Brain, Leonardo Reviews On-Line http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/reviews/sep2000/bk_INNVIS_mcmahon.html

(1999) Review of Patricia M.Matthews. The Significance of Beauty. Kant on Feeling and the System of the Mind (Dordrecht; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997) in Philosophy in Review, 19(2) (April), 129-130.

(1999) Review of David E. Cooper (ed), Aesthetics The Classic Readings (Oxford; Blackwell, 1997) in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Vol.77:1, March, pp.119-120.

(1998) Review of Colin Lyas, Aesthetics: The Fundamentals of Philosophy (London; University College London Press, 1997) in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Vol.76:4, December, 1998. pp.647-649.

 

 

Professional Associations

2008-10  OzReader for the Australian Research Council

Assessor for the Australian Research Council since 1999.

Examiner for PhD and Masters theses in Philosophical Aesthetics, Philosophy of Art and Art Education.

Refereed for Various journals in the area of Philosophical Aesthetics, Philosophy of Art, and Psychology of Aesthetic Value.

Member of the Australasian Association of Philosophy, the American Society of Aesthetics, the British Society of Aesthetics and the European Society of Aesthetics.

 

Professional Interests

 Invitations to Speak

2009  Guest speaker, Fine Art Academy of Berlin (Olafur Eliasson's Studio).

2009  Guest speaker, Philosophy and Aesthetics Research Group, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.

2008  Philosopher's Zone, Saturday 23rd February, ABC Radio National.

2007  A symposium on Bio-aesthetics at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

2006  Guest speaker on Australia Talks Back, ABC Radio National, 13th July on the topic of Beauty.

2004  American Society of Aesthetics Conference, Pacific Division, California, USA.

2004  "The Nature of Beauty" to the Goethe Society of South Australia.

2003  Invited to participate in a symposium on the Nature of Beauty by National Science Week Festival Canberra. Broadcast on All in the Mind, Radio National, Sunday 24th August at 1.00 and Wednesday 27th August at 2.00.

2000  Public lecture entitled: "Aesthetics and Cognitive Science: Illuminating Each Other" at the University of Houston. Organized jointly by the Department of Philosophy and the Cognitive Science initiative, University of Houston.

 

Consultancies

2002  Expert Witness on School Bullying, David Hooper Solicitor, Sydney NSW.

2001  Expert Witness on School Bullying, The Hargreaves Practice, Sydney NSW.

1999-2000  Research Circles Project-National Schools Network.

1998  Mediator:appointment dispute for the Catholic EducationOffice,Canberra.

1998  Expert Witness, Duty of Care in schools, NSW Crown Solicitor's Office.

 

Art Exhibitions

1981  Niagara Galleries, Melbourne.

1981  Capital Permanent Art Award, Geelong Art Gallery (Geelong, Vic).

1983  Niagara Galleries, Melbourne.

1984  Roar Galleries, Brunswick St. (Fitzroy, Melbourne).

 

 

Files

• The_Very_Possibility_of_Art.pdf [48.1K] (application/pdf)
• Literature_aesthetics.pdf [78.1K] (application/pdf)
• BEAUTY_2005.pdf [49.9K] (application/pdf)
• Beauty_Pleasure_Plato_Kant.pdf [37.1K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewThom.pdf [13.9K] (application/pdf)
• Review_0f_Elkins.pdf [8.5K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewofZangwill.pdf [19.3K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewKant.pdf [9.1K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewZeki.pdf [14.9K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewMatthewKieran_RevealingArt.pdf [19.4K] (application/pdf)
• ReviewBeauty.pdf [13.4K] (application/pdf)
• review_rock_art.pdf [123.8K] (application/pdf)

Entry last updated: Friday, 13 Nov 2009