The Principles of AestheticsParker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Philosophy
The Principles of Aesthetics
Parker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Aesthetics
Another theory, often called the "intellectualistic" theory, claims
that the purpose of art is truth. "Beauty is truth; truth, beauty."
The immediate pleasure which we feel in the beautiful is the same as
the instant delight in the apprehension of truth. There is no difference
in purpose or value between science and art, but only a difference in
method--science presents truth in the form of the abstract judgment;
art, in the form of the concrete image or example.
The difficulty with this theory is the uncertainty as to what is meant
by truth; hence the many shapes it assumes. But before going deeply
into this question, let us consider some of the simple facts which
seem to tell for and against the theory. There can be no doubt that
many examples of the representative arts--painting, sculpture, novel,
and drama--are praised for their truth. We demand truth of coloring
or line in painting, of form in sculpture, of character and social
relation in the drama or novel. On the other hand, we admit aesthetic
value to fanciful painting and literature, and to expressions of beliefs
which no one accepts at the present time. We appreciate the beauty of
Dante's descriptions of the Inferno and of the conversations between
him and its inhabitants without believing them to be reports of fact.
No one values the _Blue Bird_ the less because it is not an account
of an actual occurrence. Even with regard to the realistic novel and
drama, no one thinks of holding them to the standards of historical
or scientific accuracy. And, although we may demand of a landscape
painting plausibility of color and line, we certainly do not require
that it be a representation of any identifiable scene.
If by truth, therefore, be meant a description or image of matters of
fact, then surely it is not the purpose of art to give us this truth.
The artist, to be sure, may give this, as when the landscapist paints
some locality dear to his client or the portraitist paints the client
himself; but he does not need to do this, and the aesthetic value of
his work is independent of it; for the picture possesses its beauty
even when we know nothing of its model. In the language of current
philosophy, truth in the sense of the correspondence of a portrayal
to an object external to the portrayal, is not "artistic truth."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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