Overview

Philosophical 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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen Davies (University of Auckland)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.452kg
ISBN:  

9780199202430

ISBN 10:   0199202435
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   18 February 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Introduction Part One 1: Essential distinctions for art theorists 2: The cluster theory of art 3: Functional and procedural definitions of art 4: Non-Western art and art's definition 5: First art and art's definition 6: Aesthetic judgments, artworks, and functional beauty 7: Ellen Dissanayake's evolutionary aesthetic 8: Probably not the last word on the end of art 9: Is architecture an art? Part Two 10: Interpreting contextualities 11: Authors' intentions, literary interpretation, and literary value 12: True interpretations 13: Relativism in interpretation 14: Replies to arguments suggesting that critics' strong evaluations could not be soundly deduced 15: Truth-values and metaphors 16: The expression theory again Bibliography Index

Reviews

<br> The essays here collected are works of analytic philosophy of art. They are insightful, scholarly, and well written. That this work is a fount of sophisticated ideas that, if not the final word on the matters to which they are devoted, are a basis for further discussion. --Philosophy in Review<p><br>

Author Information

Stephen Davies is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland.

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