Mimesis as Make-Believe

Mimesis as Make-Believe

Author: Kendall L. Walton

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1993-10-15

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0674268229

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Representations—in visual arts and in fiction—play an important part in our lives and culture. Kendall Walton presents here a theory of the nature of representation, which illuminates its many varieties and goes a long way toward explaining its importance. Drawing analogies to children’s make believe activities, Walton constructs a theory that addresses a broad range of issues: the distinction between fiction and nonfiction, how depiction differs from description, the notion of points of view in the arts, and what it means for one work to be more “realistic” than another. He explores the relation between appreciation and criticism, the character of emotional reactions to literary and visual representations, and what it means to be caught up emotionally in imaginary events. Walton’s theory also provides solutions to the thorny philosophical problems of the existence—or ontological standing—of fictitious beings, and the meaning of statements referring to them. And it leads to striking insights concerning imagination, dreams, nonliteral uses of language, and the status of legends and myths. Throughout Walton applies his theoretical perspective to particular cases; his analysis is illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from literature, painting, sculpture, theater, and film. Mimesis as Make-Believe is important reading for everyone interested in the workings of representational art.


Book Synopsis Mimesis as Make-Believe by : Kendall L. Walton

Download or read book Mimesis as Make-Believe written by Kendall L. Walton and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1993-10-15 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Representations—in visual arts and in fiction—play an important part in our lives and culture. Kendall Walton presents here a theory of the nature of representation, which illuminates its many varieties and goes a long way toward explaining its importance. Drawing analogies to children’s make believe activities, Walton constructs a theory that addresses a broad range of issues: the distinction between fiction and nonfiction, how depiction differs from description, the notion of points of view in the arts, and what it means for one work to be more “realistic” than another. He explores the relation between appreciation and criticism, the character of emotional reactions to literary and visual representations, and what it means to be caught up emotionally in imaginary events. Walton’s theory also provides solutions to the thorny philosophical problems of the existence—or ontological standing—of fictitious beings, and the meaning of statements referring to them. And it leads to striking insights concerning imagination, dreams, nonliteral uses of language, and the status of legends and myths. Throughout Walton applies his theoretical perspective to particular cases; his analysis is illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from literature, painting, sculpture, theater, and film. Mimesis as Make-Believe is important reading for everyone interested in the workings of representational art.

Child's Play

Child's Play

Author: Laurence Goldman

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 9781474214582

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This anthropological account of make-believe behaviour of Huli (Papua New Guinea) children demonstrates how our shared knowledge about make-believe routines, about role playing, and about the kinds of social information these representations incorporate allow children to invoke their own experiences of the world and reinvent them as types of virtual reality.


Book Synopsis Child's Play by : Laurence Goldman

Download or read book Child's Play written by Laurence Goldman and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This anthropological account of make-believe behaviour of Huli (Papua New Guinea) children demonstrates how our shared knowledge about make-believe routines, about role playing, and about the kinds of social information these representations incorporate allow children to invoke their own experiences of the world and reinvent them as types of virtual reality.

Fiction and Narrative

Fiction and Narrative

Author: Derek Matravers

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-04-24

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 0191018066

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For the past twenty years there has been a virtual consensus in philosophy that there is a special link between fiction and the imagination. In particular, fiction has been defined in terms of the imagination: what it is for something to be fictional is that there is some requirement that a reader imagine it. Derek Matravers argues that this rests on a mistake; the proffered definitions of 'the imagination' do not link it with fiction but with representations more generally. In place of the flawed consensus, he offers an account of what it is to read, listen to, or watch a narrative whether that narrative is fictional or non-fictional. The view that emerges, which draws extensively on work in psychology, downgrades the divide between fiction and non-fiction and largely dispenses with the imagination. In the process, he casts new light on a succession of issues: on the 'paradox of fiction', on the issue of fictional narrators, on the problem of 'imaginative resistance', and on the nature of our engagement with film.


Book Synopsis Fiction and Narrative by : Derek Matravers

Download or read book Fiction and Narrative written by Derek Matravers and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the past twenty years there has been a virtual consensus in philosophy that there is a special link between fiction and the imagination. In particular, fiction has been defined in terms of the imagination: what it is for something to be fictional is that there is some requirement that a reader imagine it. Derek Matravers argues that this rests on a mistake; the proffered definitions of 'the imagination' do not link it with fiction but with representations more generally. In place of the flawed consensus, he offers an account of what it is to read, listen to, or watch a narrative whether that narrative is fictional or non-fictional. The view that emerges, which draws extensively on work in psychology, downgrades the divide between fiction and non-fiction and largely dispenses with the imagination. In the process, he casts new light on a succession of issues: on the 'paradox of fiction', on the issue of fictional narrators, on the problem of 'imaginative resistance', and on the nature of our engagement with film.

Art, Representation, and Make-Believe

Art, Representation, and Make-Believe

Author: Sonia Sedivy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-06

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1000396207

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This is the first collection of essays focused on the many-faceted work of Kendall L. Walton. Walton has shaped debate about the arts for the last 50 years. He provides a comprehensive framework for understanding arts in terms of the human capacity of make-believe that shows how different arts – visual, photographic, musical, literary, or poetic – can be explained in terms of complex structures of pretense, perception, imagining, empathy, and emotion. His groundbreaking work has been taken beyond aesthetics to address foundational issues concerning linguistic and scientific representations – for example, about the nature of scientific modelling or to explain how much of what we say is quite different from the literal meanings of our words. Contributions from a diverse group of philosophers probe Walton’s detailed proposals and the themes for research they open. The essays provide an overview of important debates that have Walton’s work at their core. This book will be of interest to scholars and graduate students working on aesthetics across the humanities, as well as those interested in the topic of representation and its intersection with perception, language, science, and metaphysics.


Book Synopsis Art, Representation, and Make-Believe by : Sonia Sedivy

Download or read book Art, Representation, and Make-Believe written by Sonia Sedivy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-06 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first collection of essays focused on the many-faceted work of Kendall L. Walton. Walton has shaped debate about the arts for the last 50 years. He provides a comprehensive framework for understanding arts in terms of the human capacity of make-believe that shows how different arts – visual, photographic, musical, literary, or poetic – can be explained in terms of complex structures of pretense, perception, imagining, empathy, and emotion. His groundbreaking work has been taken beyond aesthetics to address foundational issues concerning linguistic and scientific representations – for example, about the nature of scientific modelling or to explain how much of what we say is quite different from the literal meanings of our words. Contributions from a diverse group of philosophers probe Walton’s detailed proposals and the themes for research they open. The essays provide an overview of important debates that have Walton’s work at their core. This book will be of interest to scholars and graduate students working on aesthetics across the humanities, as well as those interested in the topic of representation and its intersection with perception, language, science, and metaphysics.

A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics

A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics

Author: Pierre Destrée

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-07-20

Total Pages: 547

ISBN-13: 1444337645

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The first of its kind, A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics presents a synoptic view of the arts, which crosses traditional boundaries and explores the aesthetic experience of the ancients across a range of media—oral, aural, visual, and literary. Investigates the many ways in which the arts were experienced and conceptualized in the ancient world Explores the aesthetic experience of the ancients across a range of media, treating literary, oral, aural, and visual arts together in a single volume Presents an integrated perspective on the major themes of ancient aesthetics which challenges traditional demarcations Raises questions about the similarities and differences between ancient and modern ways of thinking about the place of art in society


Book Synopsis A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics by : Pierre Destrée

Download or read book A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics written by Pierre Destrée and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-07-20 with total page 547 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first of its kind, A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics presents a synoptic view of the arts, which crosses traditional boundaries and explores the aesthetic experience of the ancients across a range of media—oral, aural, visual, and literary. Investigates the many ways in which the arts were experienced and conceptualized in the ancient world Explores the aesthetic experience of the ancients across a range of media, treating literary, oral, aural, and visual arts together in a single volume Presents an integrated perspective on the major themes of ancient aesthetics which challenges traditional demarcations Raises questions about the similarities and differences between ancient and modern ways of thinking about the place of art in society

Imaginary Games

Imaginary Games

Author: Chris Bateman

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1846949416

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Can games be art or is all art a kind of game? A philosophical investigation of play and imaginary things.


Book Synopsis Imaginary Games by : Chris Bateman

Download or read book Imaginary Games written by Chris Bateman and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can games be art or is all art a kind of game? A philosophical investigation of play and imaginary things.

How to Make Believe

How to Make Believe

Author: J. Alexander Bareis

Publisher: ISSN

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783110441536

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A major question in studies of aesthetic expression is how we can understand and explain similarities and differences among different forms of representation. In the current volume, this question is addressed through the lens of make-believe theory, a philosophical theory broadly introduced by two seminal works - Kendall Walton's Mimesis as Make-Believe and Gregory Currie's The Nature of Fiction, both published 1990. Since then, make-believe theory has become central in the philosphical discussion of representation. As a first of its kind, the current volume comprises 17 detailed studies of highly different forms of representation, such as novels, plays, TV-series, role games, computer games, lamentation poetry and memoirs. The collection contributes to establishing make-believe theory as a powerful theoretical tool for a wide array of studies traditionally falling under the humanities umbrella.


Book Synopsis How to Make Believe by : J. Alexander Bareis

Download or read book How to Make Believe written by J. Alexander Bareis and published by ISSN. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major question in studies of aesthetic expression is how we can understand and explain similarities and differences among different forms of representation. In the current volume, this question is addressed through the lens of make-believe theory, a philosophical theory broadly introduced by two seminal works - Kendall Walton's Mimesis as Make-Believe and Gregory Currie's The Nature of Fiction, both published 1990. Since then, make-believe theory has become central in the philosphical discussion of representation. As a first of its kind, the current volume comprises 17 detailed studies of highly different forms of representation, such as novels, plays, TV-series, role games, computer games, lamentation poetry and memoirs. The collection contributes to establishing make-believe theory as a powerful theoretical tool for a wide array of studies traditionally falling under the humanities umbrella.

Conversations on Art and Aesthetics

Conversations on Art and Aesthetics

Author: Hans Maes

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-05-12

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0191509620

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What is art? What counts as an aesthetic experience? Does art have to beautiful? Can one reasonably dispute about taste? What is the relation between aesthetic and moral evaluations? How to interpret a work of art? Can we learn anything from literature, film or opera? What is sentimentality? What is irony? How to think philosophically about architecture, dance, or sculpture? What makes something a great portrait? Is music representational or abstract? Why do we feel terrified when we watch a horror movie even though we know it to be fictional? In Conversations on Art and Aesthetics, Hans Maes discusses these and other key questions in aesthetics with ten world-leading philosophers of art: Noël Carroll, Gregory Currie, Arthur Danto, Cynthia Freeland, Paul Guyer, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Jerrold Levinson, Jenefer Robinson, Roger Scruton, and Kendall Walton. The exchanges are direct, open, and sharp, and give a clear account of these thinkers' core ideas and intellectual development. They also offer new insights into, and a deeper understanding of, contemporary issues in the philosophy of art.


Book Synopsis Conversations on Art and Aesthetics by : Hans Maes

Download or read book Conversations on Art and Aesthetics written by Hans Maes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is art? What counts as an aesthetic experience? Does art have to beautiful? Can one reasonably dispute about taste? What is the relation between aesthetic and moral evaluations? How to interpret a work of art? Can we learn anything from literature, film or opera? What is sentimentality? What is irony? How to think philosophically about architecture, dance, or sculpture? What makes something a great portrait? Is music representational or abstract? Why do we feel terrified when we watch a horror movie even though we know it to be fictional? In Conversations on Art and Aesthetics, Hans Maes discusses these and other key questions in aesthetics with ten world-leading philosophers of art: Noël Carroll, Gregory Currie, Arthur Danto, Cynthia Freeland, Paul Guyer, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Jerrold Levinson, Jenefer Robinson, Roger Scruton, and Kendall Walton. The exchanges are direct, open, and sharp, and give a clear account of these thinkers' core ideas and intellectual development. They also offer new insights into, and a deeper understanding of, contemporary issues in the philosophy of art.

Mimesis in a Cognitive Perspective

Mimesis in a Cognitive Perspective

Author: Nicolae Babuts

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published: 2011-12-31

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1412845599

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Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term going back to Aristotle. It carries a wide range of meanings, including imitation, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, and the presentation of self. In modern literary criticism, mimesis has received renewed attention in the last two or three decades and been subject to wide-ranging interpretations. Nicolae Babuts looks at the concept of mimesis from a cognitive perspective. He identifies two main strands: the mimetic relation of art and poetry to the world, defined in terms of reference to an external reality, and the importance of memory in the making of plots or storytelling. Babuts suggests that there is a material identity we cannot know beyond the limits of our senses and intellect and a symbolic or coded identity that is processed by memory. All writers, including Mallarmé in his esoteric poetry, Flaubert in his realist narratives, and Mihai Eminescu, the Romanian poet, in his romantic poems, rely on mimetic strategies to link the two identities: the images in memory to the outside reality. All order their narratives in accordance with the dynamics of memory. Babuts describes this phenomenon with great insight, showing how new traditions are formed.


Book Synopsis Mimesis in a Cognitive Perspective by : Nicolae Babuts

Download or read book Mimesis in a Cognitive Perspective written by Nicolae Babuts and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 2011-12-31 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term going back to Aristotle. It carries a wide range of meanings, including imitation, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, and the presentation of self. In modern literary criticism, mimesis has received renewed attention in the last two or three decades and been subject to wide-ranging interpretations. Nicolae Babuts looks at the concept of mimesis from a cognitive perspective. He identifies two main strands: the mimetic relation of art and poetry to the world, defined in terms of reference to an external reality, and the importance of memory in the making of plots or storytelling. Babuts suggests that there is a material identity we cannot know beyond the limits of our senses and intellect and a symbolic or coded identity that is processed by memory. All writers, including Mallarmé in his esoteric poetry, Flaubert in his realist narratives, and Mihai Eminescu, the Romanian poet, in his romantic poems, rely on mimetic strategies to link the two identities: the images in memory to the outside reality. All order their narratives in accordance with the dynamics of memory. Babuts describes this phenomenon with great insight, showing how new traditions are formed.

Fiction and Imagination in Early Cinema

Fiction and Imagination in Early Cinema

Author: Mario Slugan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-11-28

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 135011569X

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Shortlisted for the BAFTSS 'Best Monograph' Award 2021 When watching the latest instalment of Batman, it is perfectly normal to say that we see Batman fighting Bane or that we see Bruce Wayne making love to Miranda Tate. We would not say that we see Christian Bale dressed up as Batman going through the motions of punching Tom Hardy dressed up us Bane. Nor do we say that we see Christian Bale pretending to be Bruce Wayne making love with Marion Cotillard, who is playacting the role Miranda Tate. But if we look at the history of cinema and consider contemporary reviews from the early days of the medium, we see that people thought precisely in this way about early film. They spoke of film as no more than documentary recordings of actors performing on set. In an innovative combination of philosophical aesthetics and new cinema history, Mario Slugan investigates how our default imaginative engagement with film changed over the first two decades of cinema. It addresses not only the importance of imagination for the understanding of early cinema but also contributes to our understanding of what it means for a representational medium to produce fictions. Specifically, Slugan argues that cinema provides a better model for understanding fiction than literature.


Book Synopsis Fiction and Imagination in Early Cinema by : Mario Slugan

Download or read book Fiction and Imagination in Early Cinema written by Mario Slugan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the BAFTSS 'Best Monograph' Award 2021 When watching the latest instalment of Batman, it is perfectly normal to say that we see Batman fighting Bane or that we see Bruce Wayne making love to Miranda Tate. We would not say that we see Christian Bale dressed up as Batman going through the motions of punching Tom Hardy dressed up us Bane. Nor do we say that we see Christian Bale pretending to be Bruce Wayne making love with Marion Cotillard, who is playacting the role Miranda Tate. But if we look at the history of cinema and consider contemporary reviews from the early days of the medium, we see that people thought precisely in this way about early film. They spoke of film as no more than documentary recordings of actors performing on set. In an innovative combination of philosophical aesthetics and new cinema history, Mario Slugan investigates how our default imaginative engagement with film changed over the first two decades of cinema. It addresses not only the importance of imagination for the understanding of early cinema but also contributes to our understanding of what it means for a representational medium to produce fictions. Specifically, Slugan argues that cinema provides a better model for understanding fiction than literature.