Dickie provides an excellent introduction to the arcane process of evaluating art. Although he writes for an audience already familiar with the current philosophical debates on art, his style is clear enough that anyone can follow his arguments. By analyzing the crucial points in the writings of philosophers like Nelson Goodman and Monroe Beardsley, Dickie provides simultaneously an overview of the most important theories and the justifications for his own position. Dickie reaches the conclusion that there are no "strong principles" by which art can be judged, only "weak principles." He states that is only "possible to grade works of art by their position in comparison matrices." No single matrix exists for all works of art. This book offers the undergraduate and advanced philosophy student a ready guide through the intricacies of contemporary aesthetics. For readers more interested in learning about actual art criticism, a better book would be David Carrier's Artwriting. --Choice
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Evaluating art
Dickie provides an excellent introduction to the arcane process of evaluating art. Although he writes for an audience already familiar with the current philosophical debates on art, his style is clear enough that anyone can follow his arguments. By analyzing the crucial points in the writings of philosophers like Nelson Goodman and Monroe Beardsley, Dickie provides simultaneously an overview of the most important theories and the justifications for his own position. Dickie reaches the conclusion that there are no "strong principles" by which art can be judged, only "weak principles." He states that is only "possible to grade works of art by their position in comparison matrices." No single matrix exists for all works of art. This book offers the undergraduate and advanced philosophy student a ready guide through the intricacies of contemporary aesthetics. For readers more interested in learning about actual art criticism, a better book would be David Carrier's Artwriting. --Choice
