Philosophy, Art, and Religion: Understanding Faith and Creativity

Cambridge Studies in Religion, Philosophy, and Society

by Gordon Graham

At a time when religion and science are thought to be at loggerheads, art is widely hailed as religion's natural spiritual ally. Philosophy, Art, and Religion investigates the extent to which this is true. It charts the way in which modern conceptions of 'Art' often marginalize the sacred arts, construing choral and instrumental music, painting and iconography, poetry, drama, and architecture as 'applied' arts that necessarily fall short of the ideal of 'art for art's sake'. Drawing on both history of art and philosophical aesthetics, Graham sets out the historical context in which the arts came to free themselves from religious patronage, in order to conceptualize the cultural context in which religious art currently finds itself. The book then relocates religious art within the aesthetics of everyday life. Subsequent chapters systematically explore each of the sacred arts, using a wide range of illustrative examples to uncover the ways in which artworks can illuminate religious faith, and religious content can lend artworks a deeper dimension.

184 pages, Hardcover

Published September 7, 2017

About the author

Gordon Graham is Director of the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Festival. He previously taught philosophy at the University of St Andrews, University of Aberdeen, and Princeton Theological Seminary. The author of twenty books on a wide range of subjects in aesthetics, politics and moral philosophy, he has also published extensively on the Scottish philosophical tradition. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and winner of an Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society Lifetime Achievement Award, he was founding editor of the Journal of Scottish Philosophy and general editor of the Oxford History of Scottish Philosophy. His books include Scottish Philosophy after the Enlightenment (Edinburgh University Press, 2022).

Reviews

[Mary Goth · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کتاب در مورد تعامل دوتا کانسپت دین و هنر در دوران‌های مختلفه... کمک‌ها و ضرر‌هایی که بهم زدن.
فصل اول بصورت کلی و مقدماتی توضیحاتی ارائه می ده
و توی چند فصل بطور مجزا، ادبیات، نقاشی، موسیقی و معماری رو در هنر دینی، بررسی می‌کنه و با یک جمع‌بندی کتاب رو تموم می‌کنه.
برای کسی که به این موضوع‌ها علاقه‌منده اما چندان مطالعه‌ی عمیق نداشته می‌تونه یک راهنمای خوب باشه‌.
اما برای من کمی تکراری و خسته‌کننده بود.
تنها خوبیش ارجاعاتیه که به آرت‌های مختلف زده و تونستم با یکی دوتا نقاش و عکاس جدید که کاراشون رو دوست داشتم آشنا بشم.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only an author who is confident in his own field of study would attempt to take the three great themes of philosophy, art and religion and attempt a synthesis. Gordon Graham has, in this book, succeeded admirably in elucidating on the complexities of the relations between these themes while at the same time providing a text which is accessible to both the academic student and the general reader alike. There is a caveat, however: the book is written in a style which is predominantly philosophical. The highly structured and questioning approach is well suited to the successful attempt to uncover the nature and essence of both art and religion. In addition to being a philosophical treatise it also serves as a resource for teaching the modes of philosophical thought. Nevertheless, the author also spells out the practical implications of such rationalistic explorations noting that “getting clear about the issues can enable worshippers to have a better sense of what they are doing and why they do it” (p.57). There is much to commend this book. I particularly liked his discussions on place of iconography in religious art and the important role played by architecture in the ongoing development of cultural expression. Throughout, the author paints with well informed broad brush strokes bringing the reader to understand art as both object and performance. His grasp of the subject matter is obvious and this is bolstered by comprehensive references and a carefully chosen bibliography. This is a book that the reader will want to return to over and over again both as a point of reference and a springboard for further exploration into these important issues. Marvellous !