An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy)

In This Book Richard Eldridge Presents A Clear And Compact Survey Of Philosophical Theories Of The Nature And Significance Of Art. Drawing On Materials From Classical And Contemporary Philosophy As Well As From Literary Theory And Art Criticism, He Explores The Representational, Expressive, And Formal Dimensions Of Art, And He Argues That Works Of Art Present Their Subject Matter In Ways That Are Of Enduring Cognitive, Moral, And Social Interest. His Discussion, Illustrated With A Wealth Of Examples, Ranges Over Topics Such As Beauty, Originality, Imagination, Imitation, The Ways In Which We Respond Emotionally To Art, And Why We Argue About Which Works Are Good, His Accessible Study Will Be Invaluable To Students And To All Readers Who Are Interested In The Relation Between Thought And Art.--jacket. 1. The Situation And Tasks Of The Philosophy Of Art -- 2. Representation, Imitation, And Resemblance -- 3. Beauty And Form -- 4. Expression -- 5. Originality And Imagination -- 6. Understanding Art -- 7. Identifying And Evaluating Art -- 8. Art And Emotion -- 9. Art And Morality -- 10. Art And Society: Some Contemporary Practices Of Art -- 11. Epilogue: The Evidence Of Things Not Seen. Richard Eldridge. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 264-276) And Index. Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Who needs a theory of art?......Page 13 Philosophy as articulation......Page 16 Art as a natural social practice......Page 17 Action, gesture, and expressive freedom......Page 19 Schiller on art, life, and modernity......Page 24 Identification versus elucidation......Page 29 What may we hope for from the philosophy of art?......Page 33 Representation and aboutness......Page 37 Aristotle on imitation......Page 38 Visual depiction, resemblance, and game-playing......Page 43 Representing as natural, human, world-responsive activity......Page 49 Functions of artistic representation......Page 53 Beauty, absorption, and pleasure......Page 59 Kant on natural and artistic beauty......Page 63 General versus individual form......Page 68 Beardsley’s theory of individual form......Page 69 Criticisms of formalist-aesthetic theories of art......Page 72 Defenses of the aesthetic interest of art......Page 75 Feelings about subject matters in life: Wordsworth, Tolstoy, and Collingwood......Page 80 What is expressed in art? Hegel versus Danto......Page 86 Collingwood’s psychodynamic theory......Page 96 Physiognomic similarity theories......Page 101 ‘‘Working-through” theories......Page 106 Why does artistic expression matter?......Page 108 Genius and the pursuit of the new: Kant......Page 114 Hegel’s criticisms of subjectivism......Page 119 Why originality matters: Adorno on free meaning-making......Page 121 Criticisms of the pursuit of originality: postmodernism and feminism......Page 126 Originality and imagination within common life......Page 131 Creativity: Scruton and Coleridge on artistic imagination......Page 134 Six strategies for understanding art......Page 140 The natures of thought and action: Hegel, Baxandall, and others......Page 143 Pluralism and constraint in interpretation: Abrams, Fish, and Derrida......Page 147 The special importance of elucidation of formal-semantic elements......Page 154 The possibility of agreement in understanding......Page 158 Why we go on arguing about which works are good......Page 162 Subjectivism and the sociology of taste: Smith and Bourdieu......Page 165 Dickie’s institutional theory......Page 168 Historical and narrative identifications: Levinson and Carroll......Page 171 Objectivism: Mothersill and Savile......Page 173 Hume on feeling and judgment......Page 176 Kant on feeling and judgment......Page 182 Personal and/versus discussable: Isenberg, Scruton, and Cohen on taste......Page 190 Some varieties of emotional response......Page 195 The paradox of fiction......Page 197 Hume on tragedy......Page 199 Making-believe and quasi-emotions: Walton, Levinson, and Feagin......Page 202 Metaphorical identification: Danto and Cohen......Page 207 Aristotle on catharsis......Page 210 Artistic making and the ‘‘working through” of emotion......Page 212 Some controversial cases: Mapplethorpe, Serrano, Finley, and others......Page 217 Autonomism and experimentalism......Page 219 Moralism and the clarification of thought and feeling......Page 226 Art, propaganda, advertising, and cliché......Page 234 Ethical understanding and working through puzzlement......Page 237 The reproduction of social life vis-à-vis ‘‘infinite satisfaction”......Page 243 Art and modernity: Schiller and others......Page 245 Lukács, Marcuse, and Adorno......Page 251 Structuralism and structural opposition in social life: Lévi Strauss and Althusser......Page 253 Foster’s postmodern sociocultural criticism......Page 257 Can artistic beauty still matter? What about fun?......Page 258 Art and social aspiration......Page 260 Some contemporary practices of art: primitivism, avant-gardism, vernacularism, and constructivism......Page 261 11 Epilogue: the evidence of things not seen......Page 271 Bibliography......Page 276 INDEX......Page 289 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Acknowledgments 10 1 The situation and tasks of the philosophy of art 13 Who needs a theory of art? 13 Philosophy as articulation 16 Art as a natural social practice 17 Action, gesture, and expressive freedom 19 Schiller on art, life, and modernity 24 Identification versus elucidation 29 What may we hope for from the philosophy of art? 33 2 Representation, imitation, and resemblance 37 Representation and aboutness 37 Aristotle on imitation 38 Visual depiction, resemblance, and game-playing 43 Representing as natural, human, world-responsive activity 49 Functions of artistic representation 53 3 Beauty and form 59 Beauty, absorption, and pleasure 59 Kant on natural and artistic beauty 63 General versus individual form 68 Beardsley’s theory of individual form 69 Criticisms of formalist-aesthetic theories of art 72 Defenses of the aesthetic interest of art 75 4 Expression 80 Feelings about subject matters in life: Wordsworth, Tolstoy, and Collingwood 80 What is expressed in art? Hegel versus Danto 86 How is artistic expression achieved? 96 Collingwood’s psychodynamic theory 96 Physiognomic similarity theories 101 ‘‘Working-through” theories 106 Why does artistic expression matter? 108 5 Originality and imagination 114 Genius and the pursuit of the new: Kant 114 Hegel’s criticisms of subjectivism 119 Why originality matters: Adorno on free meaning-making 121 Criticisms of the pursuit of originality: postmodernism and feminism 126 Originality and imagination within common life 131 Creativity: Scruton and Coleridge on artistic imagination 134 6 Understanding art 140 Six strategies for understanding art 140 The natures of thought and action: Hegel, Baxandall, and others 143 Pluralism and constraint in interpretation: Abrams, Fish, and Derrida 147 The special importance of elucidation of formal-semantic elements 154 The possibility of agreement in understanding 158 7 Identifying and evaluating art 162 Why we go on arguing about which works are good 162 Subjectivism and the sociology of taste: Smith and Bourdieu 165 Dickie’s institutional theory 168 Historical and narrative identifications: Levinson and Carroll 171 Objectivism: Mothersill and Savile 173 Hume on feeling and judgment 176 Kant on feeling and judgment 182 Personal and/versus discussable: Isenberg, Scruton, and Cohen on taste 190 8 Art and emotion 195 Some varieties of emotional response 195 The paradox of fiction 197 Hume on tragedy 199 Making-believe and quasi-emotions: Walton, Levinson, and Feagin 202 Metaphorical identification: Danto and Cohen 207 Aristotle on catharsis 210 Artistic making and the ‘‘working through” of emotion 212 9 Art and morality 217 Some controversial cases: Mapplethorpe, Serrano, Finley, and others 217 Autonomism and experimentalism 219 Moralism and the clarification of thought and feeling 226 Art, propaganda, advertising, and cliché 234 Ethical understanding and working through puzzlement 237 10 Art and society: some contemporary practices of art 243 The reproduction of social life vis-à-vis ‘‘infinite satisfaction” 243 Art and modernity: Schiller and others 245 Lukács, Marcuse, and Adorno 251 Structuralism and structural opposition in social life: Lévi Strauss and Althusser 253 Foster’s postmodern sociocultural criticism 257 Can artistic beauty still matter? What about fun? 258 Art and social aspiration 260 Some contemporary practices of art: primitivism, avant-gardism, vernacularism, and constructivism 261 11 Epilogue: the evidence of things not seen 271 Bibliography 276 INDEX 289 "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art is a clear and compact survey of philosophical theories of the nature and value of art, including in its scope literature, painting, sculpture, music, dance, architecture, movies, conceptual art and performance art. This second edition incorporates significant new research on topics including pictorial depiction, musical expression, conceptual art, Hegel, and art and society. Drawing on classical and contemporary philosophy, literary theory and art criticism, Richard Eldridge explores the representational, formal and expressive dimensions of art. He argues that the aesthetic and semantic density of the work, in inviting imaginative exploration, makes works of art cognitively, morally and socially important. This importance is further elaborated in discussions of artistic beauty, originality, imagination and criticism. His accessible study will be invaluable to students of philosophy of art and aesthetics."--pub. desc. Richard Eldridge's compact survey of philosophical theories of the nature and significance of art draws on materials from classical and contemporary philosophy as well as literary theory and art criticism. Eldridge explores the representational, expressive, and formal dimensions of art, and argues that works of art present their subject matter as creations of enduring cognitive, moral, and social interest. His accessible study will be of interest to students and anyone interested in the relationship between thought and art. For almost all people in almost all cultures, either the fact (as in dance) or the product (as in painting) of some commanding performance that is both somehow significant and yet absorbing in its own right (rather than as an immediate instrument of knowledge or work) has raised strong emotions.