The Philosophy of Art

by Stephen Davies

Written with clarity, wit, and rigor, "The Philosophy of Art" provides an incisive account of the core topics in the field.
The first volume in the new "Foundations of the Philosophy of the Arts" series, designed to provide crisp introductions to the fundamental general questions about art, as well as to questions about the several arts (such as literature, music or painting).
Presents a clear and insightful introduction to central topics and on-going debates in the philosophy of art.
Eight sections cover a wide spectrum of topics such as the interpretation of art, the relation between art and moral values, and the expression and arousal of emotion through art.
Pedagogical features include full-color illustrations, vibrant examples, thought-provoking discussion questions and helpful suggested readings.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent-ish overview of questions in Aesthetics. I don't think it does as good a job as it could motivating why the questions are interesting. I also think it will be unappealing to people who come to from art but without an interest in philosophy might be turned off because the questions are explored too openly, too philosophically. *I am a professional philosopher so I don't say this lightly.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me way too long to get through but, all in all, a very informative and intriguing read.

[Shadi · Rating 1 out of 5]

succinct at the cost of criticality

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction to many key issues in the philosophy of the arts. As with all introductions, it did not go into certain interesting topics (such as the problematic way in which pornography blends fact and fiction which brought to mind for me the work of Andrea Dworkin) in as much depth as I would have preferred, but it is a solid introduction to the topic.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, well-written, and interesting. Davies calls on countless historical aesthetics texts to portray all sides of debates in aesthetic theory. I am really enjoying this, and it has helped me a lot in my Art Theory course.

[Kaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Aesthetics and Education class.