Description
Book SynopsisIn
The Arts and the Definition of the Human, Margolis introduces a novel theory of the human person or self as a historical artifact and argues that important topics in the philosophy of art, pictorial representation, and the nature of interpretation make no sense when separated from a "philosophical anthropology" along the lines he suggests.
Trade Review"Margolis is in the unique position of knowing both contemporary continental and analytical philosophy, and one of the great merits of this book is its creative bridging of the two.
The Arts and the Definition of the Human is a signal work of very high accomplishment that crowns the career of a distinguished philosopher justly celebrated for his many substantial contributions to the philosophy of art and to many other philosophical domains." -- Edward S. Casey
"In search of the distinctively human as a key to understanding language, culture, history, agency, creativity and responsibility, Margolis rejects the oppositions that have shaped discourse about these central philosophical topics since the time of the pre-Socratics. Breathtaking in its panoramic sweep of the Western tradition, admirably informed about the ideological dimensions of classical and contemporary aesthetics, Margolis's rethinking of basic issues in the intersection between knowledge, imagination, and art in all its expressive manifestations is certain to spark vitally innovative discussions as it carries forward ongoing disputes in important new directions." -- Dale Jacquette, University of Bern * Switzerland *
Table of ContentsContents Preface xxx Prologue The Definition of the Human 000 1 Perceiving Paintings as Paintings I 000 2 Perceiving Paintings as Paintings II 000 3 "One and Only One Correct Interpretation" 000 4 Toward a Phenomenology of Painting and Literature 000 5 "Seeing-in," "Make-believe," Transfiguration": The Perception of Pictorial Representation 000 Epilogue Beauty and Truth and the Passing of Transcendental Philosophy 000 Notes 000 Index 000
