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Art
and Its Messages Meaning, Morality, and Society Edited by Stephen Davies
1997
Art History, Philosophy - Aesthetics
Paperback: $17.95 SH
ISBN: 978-0-271-01683-2
"If
any one theme emerges from this [discussion] it is the resurgence
of interest in and defence of humanistic concerns with art. Such a
development is to be welcomed, and perhaps analytic aesthetics, given
the way it has developed, is best placed to defend the distinctive
and significant values of art. For such a defence is surely needed
in the face of the critical sophistry and nihilism that threatens
the humanities."
—British Journal of Aesthetics
This volume brings together essays by leading philosophers of art
who consider what can be learned from the meaning of art about society,
morality, and life in general. This subject inevitably leads to
discussion of other issues. Is art distinct from life? Is a concern
with art's messages consistent with an appropriately aesthetic appreciation
of its works? Is there anything distinctive about the manner in
which art communicates its messages, or about the messages it conveys?
The topic of art's social and moral importance has always been a
central one in aesthetics. However, whereas Plato and Schiller,
for instance, viewed art as intimately implicated in a person's
moral and social education, modernist theories have argued for art's
autonomy and separation from worldly matters. The essays presented
here provide a contemporary perspective on this long-standing debate
and reveal the recent revitalization of humanist concerns in describing
art and its significance.
Contributors are Stephen Davies, Susan L. Feagin, T. J. Diffey,
Jenefer Robinson, Gregory Currie, Peter Lamarque, Jerrold Levinson,
David Novitz, Ismay Barwell, Goran Hermeren, and Richard Shusterman.
Stephen
Davies is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University
of Auckland.
