Philosophical Perspectives on ArtPhilosophical Perspectives on Art presents a series of essays devoted to two of the most fundamental topics in the philosophy of art: the distinctive character of artworks and what is involved in understanding them as art. In Part I, Stephen Davies considers a wide range of questions about the nature and definition of art. Can art be defined, and if so, which definitions are the most plausible? Do we make and consume art because there are evolutionary advantages to doing so? Has art completed the mission that guided its earlier historical development, and if so, what is to become of it now? Should architecture be classified as an art form? Part II turns to the interpretation and appreciation of art. What is the target and purpose of the critic's interpretation? Is interpretation primarily directed at uncovering artists' intended meanings? Can apparently contradictory interpretations of a given piece both be true? Are interpretative evaluations entailed by descriptions of a work's aesthetic and artistic characteristics? In addition to providing fresh answers to these and other central questions in aesthetics, Davies considers the nature and content of metaphor, and the relation between the expressive qualities of a work of art and the emotions of its creator. |
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accept actual intentionalism actual intentionalist aesthetic experience aesthetic judgments aesthetic properties aesthetic value appreciation appropriate architects argue argument art form art status art-making art’s art’s definition Arthur Danto artistic artworks artworld audience Beardsley beliefs bivalent logic buildings Chapter character characterize claim concept of art concern consider created creation criticism cultures Danto deductive reasoning dependent beauty descriptivism Dissanayake draughtsperson ethologist evaluation example explain Expression Theory expressions of emotion free beauty functionalist George Dickie historical human hypothetical intentionalism hypothetical intentionalist identify identity instance intentions interest Jerrold Levinson kind Levinson literary interpretation literature Margolis metaphoric content natural kind nature Noël Carroll not-p notion object of interpretation ontological original context theory philosophical piece plausible Pleistocene possess postmodern practices premise primary expressions production question reason recognize regard relevant significance social Stecker suggests tertiary expression tradition true truth ur-arts utterance utterer's value-maximizing theory Western Wollheim work’s