Contemporary Debates in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

Contemporary Debates in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art features 22 original essays by leading authors in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. A pair of contrasting essays addresses each of eleven distinct issues, including the nature of beauty, aesthetic experience, artistic value, and the nature of our emotional responses to art. The contributions to this volume provide a thorough introduction to the major topics in contemporary aesthetics and the philosophy of art, in the distinctive format of philosophers engaging in head–to–head debate at a level accessible to the nonexpert. Showcasing original arguments for well–defined positions, as well as clear and concise statements of sophisticated philosophical views, this volume is an excellent resource for professional philosophers and students alike.

Acknowledgments. Notes on Contributors. Introduction: A Conceptual Map of Issues in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art (Matthew Kieran). HOW ARE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE AND VALUE INTER–RELATED? . 1. Aesthetic Empiricism and the Challenge of Fakes and Ready–mades (Gordon Graham). 2. Against Enlightened Empiricism (David Davies). References and Suggested Reading. IN WHAT DOES TRUE BEAUTY CONSIST? . 3. Beauty and Ugliness in and out of Context (Marcia Muelder Eaton). 4. Terrible Beauties (Carolyn Korsmeyer). References and Suggested Reading. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE? . 5. Aesthetic Experience: A Question of Content (Noël Carroll). 6. The Aesthetic State of Mind (Gary Iseminger). References and Suggested Reading. SHOULD WE VALUE WORKS AS ART FOR WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM? . 7. Art and Cognition (Berys Gaut). 8. Cognitive Values in the Arts: Marking the Boundaries (Peter Lamarque). References. HOW DO PICTURES REPRESENT? . 9. The Speaking Image: Visual Communication and the Nature of Depiction (Robert Hopkins). 10. The Domain of Depiction (Dominic McIver Lopes). References and Suggested Reading. WHAT CONSTITUTES ARTISTIC EXPRESSION? . 11. Artistic Expression and the Hard Case of Pure Music (Stephen Davies). 12. Musical Expressiveness as Hearability–as–Expression (Jerrold Levinson). References and Suggested Reading. IN WHAT WAYS IS THE IMAGINATION INVOLVED IN ENGAGING WITH ARTWORKS? . 13. Anne Brontë and the Uses of Imagination (Gregory Currie). 14. Imagine That! (Jonathan M. Weinberg and Aaron Meskin). References and Suggested Reading. CAN EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO FICTION BE GENUINE AND RATIONAL? . 15. Genuine Rational Fictional Emotions (Tamar Szabó Gendler and Karson Kovakovich). 16. The Challenge of Irrationalism and How Not To Meet It (Derek Matravers). References and Suggested Reading. IS ARTISTIC INTENTION RELEVANT TO THE INTERPRETATION OF ART WORKS? . 17. Interpretation and the Problem of the Relevant Intention (Robert Stecker). 18. Art, Meaning, and Artist’s Meaning (Daniel O. Nathan). References and Suggested Reading. ARE THERE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EVALUATION? . 19. There are no Aesthetic Principles (Alan H. Goldman). 20. Iron, Leather and Critical Principles (George Dickie). References and Suggested Reading. WHAT ARE THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MORAL AND AESTHETIC VALUES OF ART? . 21. Artistic Value and Opportunistic Moralism (Eileen John). 22. Ethical Criticism and The Vice of Moderation (Daniel Jacobson). References and Suggested Reading. Index.

Matthew Kieran is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds. He is author of Media Ethics: A Philosophical Approach (1997) and Revealing Art (2005), and editor of Media Ethics (1998) and Imagination, Philosophy and the Arts (with Dominic Lopes, 2003).

“These lively debates by some of today’s most prominent philosophers of art explore the multiple ways the arts engage our cognition, imagination, emotions, and even our moral sensibilities. The accessibility of these discussions makes them ideal for classroom use, while their range and depth make them equally of interest to philosophers who work in the field.” Susan Feagin, Temple University “By virtue of its astute selection of topics and distinguished contributors, this volume will help to advance debate on a number of central issues in contemporary aesthetics. It also provides an excellent central text for a cutting–edge course on the subject.” Paisley Livingston, Lingnan University