Beyond ArtDominic McIver Lopes articulates and defends a 'buck passing theory of art', namely that a work of art is nothing but a work in one of the arts. Having traced philosophical interest in theories of art to a reaction to certain puzzle cases of avant-garde art, he argues that none of the theories that have dominated philosophy since the 1960s adequately copes with these works. Whereas these theories have reached a dialectical impasse wherein they reiterate, and cannot resolve, disagreement over the puzzle cases, the buck passing theory illuminates the radical provocations of avant-garde art. In addition, when supplemented by a systematic framework for crafting theories of the individual arts, the buck passing theory grounds our empirical inquiries into the arts as well as our practices of appreciation and art criticism. Lopes seeks to model the diverse strategies employed by humanists and social and behavioural scientists who study the different arts. He gives the specificity of each art form a central role in our appreciative endeavours, and yet he stresses the continuity of the arts with similar, non-art activities such as fashion design, sports and games, cuisine, nature appreciation, and non-literary writing. |
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a-judgement acquaintance principle aesthetic appreciation aesthetic features aesthetic interest aesthetic judgement aesthetic properties aesthetic theories aesthetic value Aesthetics and Art appreciative kinds appreciative practice architecture argues Art Criticism art kinds art world artefact artistic value beauty belong bricoleur problem Brillo Boxes British Journal buck passing theory buck stopping theories Carroll category of art ceramic art Chapter coffee mug concept of art conceptual art counterexamples dance Danto descriptive thesis Dickie empirical art studies example fact Fountain framework free agents function Gaut genetic theories good-modified Guernica hard hypothesis ice dance ikebana individual arts informative theory intuitions Iseminger Journal of Aesthetics Kristeller literature Lopes medium profile medium-centred Noël Carroll norm objection open concept painting perceptible features perceptual philosophy of art photographs poetry question schema sculpture Shetland sheepdogs stance thematizing activity theory of aesthetic theory of art tion traditional theories trivial theory twins argument value in art Wollheim work’s