Muirhead Library of Philosophy Meaning in the Arts (Hardcover)

This is Volume II of three in a collection on Aesthetics. Originally published in 1969 this volume of the Muirhead library of philosophy. After distinguishing and relating the functions of Criticism and Aesthetics in Part I Part II develops the basic thesis of the book which is that the central defining characteristic of the aesthetic is embodiment rather than expression . Part III tests this out in examples from the different arts representative and abstract with very special attention to music (as an abstract art) in which the problem of art s apparently contradictory characters-of being both autonomous and yet expressive of life outside art-is seen in its most acute form. Part IV is a philosophical analysis of the main concepts so far involved-meaning symbolism knowledge truth standards-in art as distinct from other discursive knowledge. It concludes with a discussion of the question whether art is in any sense a revelation . Part V considers the bearing of the arguments of the book on aesthetic education.