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Benjamin Tilghman has been a leading commentator on analytic philosophy for many years. This book brings together his most significant and influential work on aesthetics. Spanning a period of thirty years and covering topics in aesthetics from literature to painting, the collection traces the development of Tilghman's two principal themes; a rejection of philosophical theory as a way of resolving problems about our understanding and appreciation of art and the importance of the representation and presentation of the human and human concerns in art. Tilghman is profoundly influenced by the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his work is informed throughout by his conception and practice of philosophy. Written with exceptional clarity and with many references to original work in both painting and literature, this collection will be an invaluable resource not only for professional philosophers but for those working in the arts generally, art historians, critics and literary theorists
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REFLECTIONS ON AESTHETIC JUDGMENT AND OTHER ESSAYS
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Reflections on Aesthetic Judgment and other Essays
BENJAMIN TILGHMAN Kansas State University, USA
© Benjamin Tilghman 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Benjamin Tilghman has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England
Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA
Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Tilghman, Benjamin R. Reflections on aesthetic judgment and other essays 1.Aesthetics 2.Criticism I.Title 111.8’5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tilghman, Benjamin R. Reflections on aesthetic judgment and other essays / Benjamin Tilghman. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7546-5707-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Aesthetics. 2. Art–Philosophy. I. Title. BH39.T55 2007 111’.85–dc22 2006026856
ISBN-13: 978-07546-5707-1 ISBN-10: 0-7546-5707-8 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Contents Foreword Acknowledgments
vii ix
1
The Literary Work of Art
2
Aesthetic Descriptions and Secondary Senses
17
3
Danto and the Ontology of Literature
31
4
Understanding People and Understanding Art
41
5
Picture Space and Moral Space
51
6
Reflections on Aesthetic Theory
61
7
Literature, Philosophy and Nonsense
73
8
Charles Le Brun, Theory, Philosophy and Irony
83
9
Architecture, Expression and the Understanding of a Culture
95
10
Perspective, Painting and the Look of the World
107
11
A Conceptual Dimension of Art History
121
12
Language and Painting, Border Wars and Pipe Dreams
131
13
Literature, Human Understanding and Morality
149
14
Reflections on Aesthetic Judgment
161
Index of Names Index of Subjects
1
173 175
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Foreword The papers in this collection were written and published over a period of more than thirty years. They are the result of a long-standing interest in aesthetics and a growing interest in art. It is, needless t