Description
Book SynopsisAn intriguing book about the aesthetics of technological objects and the relationship between technical and artistic accomplishment.
Trade ReviewArtifice and Design is a fascinating book in the philosophical anthropology of art and technology. Arguing against the injustice of the dualism of technology and aesthetics, Barry Allen proves that they always go hand in hand and provides numerous examples to overcome the dichotomy. Skeptical of the rationalism that distinguishes art from science, he strongly endorses the cultivation of aesthetic design and ongoing attention to the human perceptual interface with artifice.
-- Albena Yaneva * Isis *
Allen looks at familiar ideas from a fresh and generally passionate angle.... He frequently uses bridges as a way of illustrating the convergences and relationships he explores, and Artifice and Design touches on disciplines ranging from cognitive psychology to history and from sociology to evolutionary biology.... Allen is as likely to talk, and talk well, about vectors and static equilibrium as about the ideas of Aristotle and the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.... What results is a compelling and unique work that argues that art and technology, far from needing a conscious effort to be brought together, would require a vigorous effort to be kept apart.
* Civil Engineering *
Situated at the intersection of philosophy of technology and philosophy of art, this book explores the influence of aesthetic considerations on technical design and the impact of technology on art. It is more a philosophical commonplace book than a systematic treatise, but this is its great virtue. Allen displays formidable erudition, drawing on a wide range of natural and social scientific literatures, art history, and both the Continental and analytical philosophical traditions. The book is packed with fascinating and sometimes little-known information about human evolution (particularly the evolution of the human hand, language, and cognition), the design of bridges, the history of technology, the nature of tools (and how they are unique to humans), and a host of other subjects.... The book is full of insights into art and technology, and all readers interested in philosophy of technology or philosophy of art can learn something from it.
* Choice *
