Contemplating Art

A compendium of writings by one of the leading figures in aesthetics. This work contains twenty-four essays, which range over issues in general aesthetics and those relating to specific arts - in particular music, film, and literature. It is useful for philosophers, musicologists, literary theorists, art critics, and reflective lovers of the arts.

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Contemplating Art is a compendium of writings from the last ten years by one of the leading figures in aesthetics, Jerrold Levinson. The book contains twenty-four essays and is divided into seven parts. The first is about issues relating to art in general, not specific to one art form. The second and longest part of the book is about philosophical problems specific to music. The third part focuses on pictorial art, and the fourth on interpretation, in particular the interpretation of literature and literary language. In the remaining parts of the book Levinson discusses aesthetic properties, issues in historical aesthetics, humour, and intrinsic value.

These lively essays, rigorous but accessible, will appeal not only to philosophers but also to musicologists, literary theorists, art critics, and reflective lovers of the arts.