Professor Kozlowski wrestles with his own potentially-perverted artistic sensibilities by confronting Tolstoy's overall thesis on the function and definition of good art, as well as trying to assess, deconstruct, and make sense of Tolstoy's sometimes seemingly-contradictory and erratic artistic judgments by redefining them according to contemporary wisdom and categories of understanding.
Suggested supplementary readings include:
Tolstoy's own short stories, especially "God Sees the Truth, But Waits" and "The Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Beethoven's 9th Symphony (and Piano Sonata Op. 101)
Wagner's Ring Cycle
John Charles Dollman's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony"
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, The Case of Wagner and Beyond Good and Evil
To see what else Professor Kozlowski is up to, visit his webpage: https://professorkozlowski.wordpress.com/
And please consider contributing to Professor Kozlowski's Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ProfessorKozlowski - where you'll also be able to vote for and suggest new topics for future lectures.