Analytic ethics often neglects the exploration and appreciation of morality as it is actually practised on a day-to-day basis. But by looking at how, in a practical sense, we are able to interact with others in a morally appropriate way we can construct a compelling picture of what some of our most pervasive obligations are. This thesis takes such an approach through the concept of understanding – understanding essentially taken here to involve those processes involved in detecting and correctly responding to beings typically possessing inherent moral significance. In the first two chapters ‘understanding' and the understanding approach are themselves explicated, and placed in the context of several other related approaches in the English-speaking tradition – Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments, Nel Noddings' ethics of care and Richard Hare's preference utilitarianism. This approach is then used to provide us with an alternative idea about what our moral reasoning suggests to be of fundamental ethical significance, and of what kinds of activity morality recommends to us. The activity explored in most detail here is that of engaging with fiction – or more broadly, fictive imaginings. While understanding shows us that fictional characters and events themselves cannot have an inherent moral valence or significance, it also shows us when and how it is possible and appropriate to ethically assess fictive engagement, be it as creator or consumer. This is seen after exploring how and in what ways our moral understanding can be appropriately applied to and exercised by fictions at all, and why fiction should be of particular interest to the understanding agent, looking at the work of Martha Nussbaum, Jenefer Robinson, Peter Lamarque and others on aesthetic cognitivism. Ultimately this leads us to discern a minimal ethical constraint on our interpretation of fiction and art in general, further proving understanding's usefulness.

Esta dissertação analisou como se deu o filosofar na arte das crianças surdas e na busca por práticas estéticas visuais no processo da construção deste filosofar. Para isto, foram realizadas entrevistas (individuais e coletivas) com 10 sujeitos surdos de uma escola municipal de surdos de Gravataí no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, onde foram apresentadas algumas pinturas dos artistas Da Vinci, Picasso, Portinari e Baird (artista surdo). O objetivo foi o de provocar uma reflexão destes sujeitos, a partir de experiências estéticas, no sentido de que cada um pudesse expressar seus saberes, praticar a vivência do olhar, trazendo suas hipóteses e compreensões sobre as pinturas, observando como estas experiências podiam colaborar para a construção dos filosofares na arte dos sujeitos surdos. Os principais pressupostos teóricos foram os estudos de Michael J. Parsons sobre os níveis estéticos de compreensão da arte, que foram tabulados e sistematizados para uma melhor análise qualitativa dos dados, proposta metodológica optada para a pesquisa. Marly Meira e Walter Kohan perpassam a pesquisa como os alicerces da criação filosófica e o pensar sobre o pensar. Destaco também os estudos de Duarte para a educação do sensível e de Pillar na educação para o olhar. Pôde-se constatar que houve uma notável relação entre as experiências estéticas e os diálogos com a possibilidade de novas compreensões sobre arte e com a criação de novos pensares filosóficos. / This study analyzed the development of the capacity of philosophize in the deaf children art and in search for visual aesthetics practice in the process of constructing this capacity. For this, 10 deaf research subjects were interviewed (individually and collectively) in a municipal deaf school in Gravataí in Rio Grande do Sul state, were they were presented to some pictures from Da Vinci, Picasso and Baird (deaf artists). The goal was to stimulate these subjects to reflect, from aesthetics experiences, in a way of expressing their knowledge and of practicing view experience, bringing their hypothesis and understandings about the pictures and observing how these experiences could contribute to construct the capacity of philosophize in the deaf subject art. The main theoretical support was the Michael J. Parsons’ studies about the aesthetics levels of art understandings which were tabulated and systemized to better qualitative analyses of data. This methodological proposal has been adopted for us in this research. Marly Meira and Walter Kohan’s studies pass through our research as the basis of the philosophical creation and the thinking about the thinking. I would also emphasize the Duarte’s studies in sensitive education and the Pillar’s studies of education for view. We could verify a notable relation between aesthetics experiences and the dialogues with possibilities of new understandings about art and with the creation of new philosophical thinking.

Esta dissertação analisou como se deu o filosofar na arte das crianças surdas e na busca por práticas estéticas visuais no processo da construção deste filosofar. Para isto, foram realizadas entrevistas (individuais e coletivas) com 10 sujeitos surdos de uma escola municipal de surdos de Gravataí no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, onde foram apresentadas algumas pinturas dos artistas Da Vinci, Picasso, Portinari e Baird (artista surdo). O objetivo foi o de provocar uma reflexão destes sujeitos, a partir de experiências estéticas, no sentido de que cada um pudesse expressar seus saberes, praticar a vivência do olhar, trazendo suas hipóteses e compreensões sobre as pinturas, observando como estas experiências podiam colaborar para a construção dos filosofares na arte dos sujeitos surdos. Os principais pressupostos teóricos foram os estudos de Michael J. Parsons sobre os níveis estéticos de compreensão da arte, que foram tabulados e sistematizados para uma melhor análise qualitativa dos dados, proposta metodológica optada para a pesquisa. Marly Meira e Walter Kohan perpassam a pesquisa como os alicerces da criação filosófica e o pensar sobre o pensar. Destaco também os estudos de Duarte para a educação do sensível e de Pillar na educação para o olhar. Pôde-se constatar que houve uma notável relação entre as experiências estéticas e os diálogos com a possibilidade de novas compreensões sobre arte e com a criação de novos pensares filosóficos. / This study analyzed the development of the capacity of philosophize in the deaf children art and in search for visual aesthetics practice in the process of constructing this capacity. For this, 10 deaf research subjects were interviewed (individually and collectively) in a municipal deaf school in Gravataí in Rio Grande do Sul state, were they were presented to some pictures from Da Vinci, Picasso and Baird (deaf artists). The goal was to stimulate these subjects to reflect, from aesthetics experiences, in a way of expressing their knowledge and of practicing view experience, bringing their hypothesis and understandings about the pictures and observing how these experiences could contribute to construct the capacity of philosophize in the deaf subject art. The main theoretical support was the Michael J. Parsons’ studies about the aesthetics levels of art understandings which were tabulated and systemized to better qualitative analyses of data. This methodological proposal has been adopted for us in this research. Marly Meira and Walter Kohan’s studies pass through our research as the basis of the philosophical creation and the thinking about the thinking. I would also emphasize the Duarte’s studies in sensitive education and the Pillar’s studies of education for view. We could verify a notable relation between aesthetics experiences and the dialogues with possibilities of new understandings about art and with the creation of new philosophical thinking.

Esta dissertação analisou como se deu o filosofar na arte das crianças surdas e na busca por práticas estéticas visuais no processo da construção deste filosofar. Para isto, foram realizadas entrevistas (individuais e coletivas) com 10 sujeitos surdos de uma escola municipal de surdos de Gravataí no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, onde foram apresentadas algumas pinturas dos artistas Da Vinci, Picasso, Portinari e Baird (artista surdo). O objetivo foi o de provocar uma reflexão destes sujeitos, a partir de experiências estéticas, no sentido de que cada um pudesse expressar seus saberes, praticar a vivência do olhar, trazendo suas hipóteses e compreensões sobre as pinturas, observando como estas experiências podiam colaborar para a construção dos filosofares na arte dos sujeitos surdos. Os principais pressupostos teóricos foram os estudos de Michael J. Parsons sobre os níveis estéticos de compreensão da arte, que foram tabulados e sistematizados para uma melhor análise qualitativa dos dados, proposta metodológica optada para a pesquisa. Marly Meira e Walter Kohan perpassam a pesquisa como os alicerces da criação filosófica e o pensar sobre o pensar. Destaco também os estudos de Duarte para a educação do sensível e de Pillar na educação para o olhar. Pôde-se constatar que houve uma notável relação entre as experiências estéticas e os diálogos com a possibilidade de novas compreensões sobre arte e com a criação de novos pensares filosóficos. / This study analyzed the development of the capacity of philosophize in the deaf children art and in search for visual aesthetics practice in the process of constructing this capacity. For this, 10 deaf research subjects were interviewed (individually and collectively) in a municipal deaf school in Gravataí in Rio Grande do Sul state, were they were presented to some pictures from Da Vinci, Picasso and Baird (deaf artists). The goal was to stimulate these subjects to reflect, from aesthetics experiences, in a way of expressing their knowledge and of practicing view experience, bringing their hypothesis and understandings about the pictures and observing how these experiences could contribute to construct the capacity of philosophize in the deaf subject art. The main theoretical support was the Michael J. Parsons’ studies about the aesthetics levels of art understandings which were tabulated and systemized to better qualitative analyses of data. This methodological proposal has been adopted for us in this research. Marly Meira and Walter Kohan’s studies pass through our research as the basis of the philosophical creation and the thinking about the thinking. I would also emphasize the Duarte’s studies in sensitive education and the Pillar’s studies of education for view. We could verify a notable relation between aesthetics experiences and the dialogues with possibilities of new understandings about art and with the creation of new philosophical thinking.