The Nature of Art

by A. L. Cothey

Overview

Although various aesthetic themes have preoccupied many major philosophers, from Plato to Goodman, the central questions of the philosophy of art have remained ill-defined. This book gives a concise and systematic account of the leading philosophical ideas about art and aesthetics from ancient times to the present day, and goes on to propose a new theory of aesthetic satisfaction and artistic abilities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415033572
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/13/1990
Series:	Problems of Philosophy
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.81(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Art is anomalous; 2. Forms of aesthetic scepticism: philistines and iconoclasts; 3. Historical note; 4. The central issues; 5. Aestheticism; Section 01 I Hedonism and the Theory of Taste; Section 01-01-01 1. General objections; Section 01-01-02 2. Beauty as a secondary quality: Hutcheson, Reid, Burke; Section 01-01-03 3. Beauty as a primary quality: Santayana. Bell; Section 01-01-04 4. Hume’s theory; Section 02 II Theories that Assign a Direct Practical F’urpose to Art; Section 02-01-01 1. Nutritional and medicinal analogies; Section 02-01-02 2. General difficulties; Section 02-01-03 3. Art as substitute satisfaction: Freud; Section 02-01-04 4. Tolstoy’s theory; Section 02-01-05 5. Art as a pseudo-capacity: Plato; Section 02-01-06 6. Beauty and inspiration: Plato; Section 02-01-07 7. Metaphysical aestheticism: Plotinus; Section 03 III Perfection and the Play of Cognition; Section 03-01-01 1. Aristotle’s theory of pleasure; Section 03-01-02 2. Beauty and perfection: a dilemma; Section 03-01-03 3. Rationalist aesthetics: Leibniz, Baumgarten; Section 03-01-04 4. Kant’s theory (I): the existence of a non-cognitive aim of cognition; Section 03-01-05 5. Kant’s theory (2): the sublime and the moral signijicance of beauty; Section 04 IV Art as the Experience of Metaphysical Truth; Section 04-01-01 1. The reception of Kant’s theory: Schiller, Schelling; Section 04-01-02 2. Art and nature: Schelling; Section 04-01-03 3. Art as the ‘sensuous presentation of the Absolute’: Hegel; Section 04-01-04 4. Hegel’s iconoclasm; Section 04-01-05 5. Art as respite: Schopenhauer; Section 04-01-06 6. Schopenhauer on music; Section 04-01-07 7. Conclusion: the needfor a theory offorms of knowledge; Section 05 V Art as Language; Section 05-01-01 1. Knowledge by acquaintance; Section 05-01-02 2. The phenomenological approach: Dufrenne; Section 05-01-03 3. Croce’s theory of intuition and expression; Section 05-01-04 4. Presentational symbols: Langer; Section 05-01-05 5. Art and the general theory of symbols: Goodman; Section 06 VI Art and Metaphor; Section 06-01-01 1. The relevance of metaphor; Section 06-01-02 2. Theories of metaphor; Section 06-01-03 3. Literalist and tropist prejudices; Section 06-01-04 4. Dead and faint metaphor; Section 06-01-05 5. Viewpoints and exponability; Section 06-01-06 6. Art as metaphor; Section 06-01-07 7. Unanswered questions; Section 07 VII Virtues and Indirect Pleasures; Section 07-01-01 1. A problem about pleasure and ‘completeness’; Section 07-01-02 2. Cognitive virtues; Section 07-01-03 3. A pragmatic theory of beauty; Section 07-01-04 4. Art as recreation; Section 07-01-05 5. The ‘institutional’ theory of art; Section 07-01-06 6. Cognitive pleasure: Aristotle on happiness; Section 08 VIII The Aim Behind Perception; Section 08-01-01 1. Cognition and the essentially metaphorical; Section 08-01-02 2. The intellect and the senses: Aristotle; Section 08-01-03 3. Further problems in understanding particulars; Section 08-01-04 4. The imagination as a pseudo-capacity; Section 08-01-05 5. Perception and kinaesthetic experience; Section 08-01-06 6. Productive skills and conceptual empathy; Section 09 IX Aesthetic Satisfaction; Section 09-01-01 1. Peculiarities of aesthetic enjoyment; Section 09-01-02 2. Perceptual knowledge; Section 09-01-03 3. Aesthetic understanding (1): empathic enjoyment; Section 09-01-04 4. Aesthetic understanding (2): beauty and necessity; Section 09-01-05 5. Beauty and experiential knowledge; Section 10 X Art and Artistic Abilities; Section 10-01-01 1. Questions about art; Section 10-01-02 2. Two theories of artistic abilities; Section 10-01-03 3. Creative imagination; Section 10-01-04 4. Inspiration and works of art; Section 10-01-05 5. Inspiration and artistic success; Section 10-01-06 6. Understanding art; Section 10-01-07 7. The value of art: aesthetic experience as a source of meaning; Bibliography; Index;