Art and Essence
This exceptional new collection comprises 13 new essays on the nature and definability of art. Presenting a wide offering of contemporary philosophical perspectives—including theoretical, historical, cross-cultural, and evolutionary—Art and Essence offers thorough critical discussion on the extensive contemporary philosophical literature on the subject. The work here contrasts the idea of theorizing about why we make and consume art with that of defining it; furthermore, the authors consider the possibility that art has no definable essence and discusses differences and connections between art and nature. More historical chapters focus on ancient and medieval approaches to art, while others discuss the work of philosophers such as Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Non-Western cultures cultivated their own, distinctive art practices and philosophies, as discussed in chapters on India and Japan, and contemporary philosophers have added their own unique perspectives. The authors are among the leading philosophers on the subjects they cover, making Art and Essence an invaluable tool for scholars of a wide variety of fields.

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Art and Essence
This exceptional new collection comprises 13 new essays on the nature and definability of art. Presenting a wide offering of contemporary philosophical perspectives—including theoretical, historical, cross-cultural, and evolutionary—Art and Essence offers thorough critical discussion on the extensive contemporary philosophical literature on the subject. The work here contrasts the idea of theorizing about why we make and consume art with that of defining it; furthermore, the authors consider the possibility that art has no definable essence and discusses differences and connections between art and nature. More historical chapters focus on ancient and medieval approaches to art, while others discuss the work of philosophers such as Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Non-Western cultures cultivated their own, distinctive art practices and philosophies, as discussed in chapters on India and Japan, and contemporary philosophers have added their own unique perspectives. The authors are among the leading philosophers on the subjects they cover, making Art and Essence an invaluable tool for scholars of a wide variety of fields.

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Art and Essence

Art and Essence

Art and Essence

Art and Essence

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Overview

This exceptional new collection comprises 13 new essays on the nature and definability of art. Presenting a wide offering of contemporary philosophical perspectives—including theoretical, historical, cross-cultural, and evolutionary—Art and Essence offers thorough critical discussion on the extensive contemporary philosophical literature on the subject. The work here contrasts the idea of theorizing about why we make and consume art with that of defining it; furthermore, the authors consider the possibility that art has no definable essence and discusses differences and connections between art and nature. More historical chapters focus on ancient and medieval approaches to art, while others discuss the work of philosophers such as Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Non-Western cultures cultivated their own, distinctive art practices and philosophies, as discussed in chapters on India and Japan, and contemporary philosophers have added their own unique perspectives. The authors are among the leading philosophers on the subjects they cover, making Art and Essence an invaluable tool for scholars of a wide variety of fields.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275977665
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 10/30/2003
Series: Studies in Art, Culture, and Communities
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

STEPHEN DAVIES teaches philosophy at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Definitions of Art, Musical Meaning and Expression, and Musical Works and Performances, and the editor of Art and Its Messages.

ANANTA C. SUKLA is Professor of English at Sambalpur University in India. He is the founding editor of The Jourbanal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics and the editor of the Praeger series Studies in Art, Culture, and Communication.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Theoretical Perspectives
Essential Distinctions for Art Theorists by Stephen Davies
Art, Essence, and Wittgenstein by Graham McFee
Nature, Gardens, Art: The Problem of Appreciation by Stephanie Ross
Historical Perspectives
Art and Beauty in Antiquity and the Middle Ages by Liberato Santoro-Brienza
Art and the Aesthetic: Hume, Kant, and the Essence of Art by Dabney Townsend
Hegel and Nietzsche on Life and Dramatic Character by Robert Wicks
Cross Cultural Perspectives
Abhinavagupta's Definition of Art: Ontology verses Essentialism by Ananta Ch. Sukla
Representing the Essence of Objects: Art in the Japanese Aesthetic Tradition by Yuriko Saito
Western and Non-Western Concepts of Art: Universality and Authenticity by Larry Shiner
Contemporary Perspectives
Historical Definitions of Art by Kathleen Stock
The Ontology of Art Interpretation by Robert Stecker
Aesthetification as a Feminist Strategy: On Art's Relational Politics by Monique Roelofs
Universalism, Evolutionary Psychology, and Aesthetics by Denis Dutton
Bibliography
Index

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