Feeling and Form

by Susanne K. Langer

In Philosophy in a New Key, Susanne Langer developed a theory of symbolism, there applied to music, which she felt could be developed to embrace all the arts. In Feeling and Form she did just that. It offers the reader nothing less than a systematic, comprehensive theory of art, applied in turn to painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, the dance, drama and film. --- from book's back cover

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Nonfiction, Music, Theory, 20th Century, Writing

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Susanne Katherina Langer (née Knauth) (December 20, 1895 – July 17, 1985) was an American philosopher of mind and of art, who was influenced by Ernst Cassirer and Alfred North Whitehead. She was one of the first women to achieve an academic career in philosophy and the first woman to be popularly and professionally recognized as an American philosopher. Langer is best known for her 1942 book entitled, Philosophy in a New Key. (wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jon Frankel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't only the best philosophical writing about art that I have ever read, it is the only philosophical investigation of the arts that I have found at all interesting. Langer, building on her earlier work, Philosophy in a New Key, analyzes all of the arts, saying on the one hand that each is distinct, but that all share some basic attributes, and that these are universal across culture and time. Each art is a virtual reality, and each art is based non-discursive symbolism, which is in turn a basic human cognitive process. She refuses to see sculpture as 3 dimensional painting for instance. She differentiates film narrative from theatre. The novel is a virtual history, where as dramatic art is virtual fate, or about the future. Music is virtual time and painting virtual space. The ideas are so crisply and beautiful presented it was possible to forget momentarily that I was reading philosophy. So much aesthetic writing gets bogged down in jargon, abstraction, weird values, agendas foreign to the arts. Few writers take the actual experience of artists into account. It is only at the end for instance that she discusses at all how to evaluate what is good or bad art. I marked so many pages of this book it would be absurd to quote. I want to reiterate here: this book is profound, takes into account the complexities of evolution, cognition, reception, sign vs. symbol, communication, form, structure, and history without ever once devolving into the nightmarish gobbledeegook of contemporary academic theory.

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The function of artistic illusion is not ‘make-believe’, as many philosophers and psychologists assume, but the very opposite, disengagement from belief - the contemplation of sensory qualities without their usual meanings…” A dense read, but an important discourse on aesthetic philosophy and ideas of art and symbolism. Will be reading the more popular 'Philosophy in a New Key' to follow.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A philosophical inquiry into the personal qualities brought out by many of the arts, Langer finds balance between form and feeling. Much of the works she uses as examples skew towards western and the classics, yet attempts are made to go non-western and modern (occasionally primitive) to give the sense of wholeness. The most fascinating feature is her deep dive into the virtual qualities of each art, grouping them together as mirror-world potentials crafted by the artists, and she doesn’t even mention ‘computers’ or ‘digital’ anything! Clearly she was ahead of her time, finding the Matrix-like simulation happening within the mind of those under the awe-inspiring influence of the Arts.

[Nancy Honore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the most challenging things I've read, but it also lead to some of the best discussions about the nature of art and the aesthetic emotion that I've ever had.

[Steen Ledet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing work of aesthetic philosophy made of sheer fire and scintillating brilliance.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is out of print. That is a shame as I think it offers a direct response to the very real dangers of AI generated art, in all its modalities, and what this portends for the future of humanity.

How does one get an of print book in print again? That is something I am going to research.

As for this book written in 1953 and today in 2024 at the dawn of AI-generated 'art', I would sum up the nexus of these two phenomena with this:

Without art, society is reduced to mere functional signs, stripped of nuance and vitality.

AI-generated art is purely signs.

Can an already impoverished culture withstand the deluge of machinic signs that will completely cannibalize all symbols?

I posit: Absolutely not.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susanne Langer, now on the "A-list."

[Markie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Herein lies the 'strangeness' or 'otherness' that characterizes an artistic object. The form is immediately given to perception, and yet it reaches beyond itself; it is semblance, but seems to be charged with reality. Like speech, that is physically nothing but little buzzing sounds, it is filled with its meaning, and its meaning is a reality." - p 52

"People who are so concerned for their children's scientific enlightenment that they keep Grimm out of the library and Santa Claus out of the chimney, allow the cheapest art, the worst of bad singing, the most revolting of sentimental fiction to impinge on the children's minds all day and every day, from infancy." - p 401

[Aubrie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the insights of art and aesthetics Langer gave in this book. I especially enjoyed the discourse on signals and symbols. I read parts of this during a philosophy class about aesthetics, then sought out the entire book to read. It’s made looking and enjoying art much more enjoyable for me. I often ask myself why I feel the way I do about certain works. Instead of just glancing at art, this book enabled ne to dive deeper into myself when viewing. I spend much more time with art now and it makes going to museums much more enjoyable. Aesthetics is actually a really complicated component of philosophy. This book is fairly accessible, but I think reading philosophy previously would be necessary to grasp it better.

[Greg Talbot · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Envisagement" surfaces often in this book; "envisionment" rarely so. Here in lies the problem with so brillant a mind as philsoopher Susanne Langer. Langer has complex strings of adjectives, ideas and theory. But the format and writing style turned me off as a reader. If the writing were wound up in a concise, orderly matter, or even a brillant illuminating artistic manner, this book would really be something. But Langer is joyful in her own musings. Any welcoming or contextualizing to readers sails away quite quickly.


At times I did find myself particularly drawn in. Particularly the areas of poetry and literature, and how we evaluate them. Although, like a paper plane she slides across topics quickly, and uses abstract terms to define abstract terms.

Unfortunately, my own form and feeligns from this book are disappointed. Where there should be inspiration, there is pedantic swagger. Where there should be joy, there is unyielding judgement about art. Like a particularly heady lecture, paying attention to the small bits is rewarding. But even the best students can muster so much attention to so much dryness.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in graduate school, and more than anything else that I have read, it helped me to understand what art is and how it works. I don't just mean visual art either - all the arts. This really should be required reading for any educated reader with the passion for the arts. I would gladly buy it again if someone offers it at a reasonable price.

[Thom Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 13, "Poesis" offers up a neo-Aristotelian view of literature as art form.