Philosophies of Arts An Essay in Differences [Paperback]

Kivy proposes a new strategy for defining fine art in a lucid study of literature and music.Since the beginning of the 18th century the philosophy of art has been engaged on the project of defining fine arts by finding out what they have in common. Peter Kivy's purpose is the trace the history of that enterprise and argue that the definitional project has been unsuccessful, with absolute music as the continual stumbling block. His fruitful change of strategy entails exploring the differ ences between the arts instead of engaging in an obsessive quest for sameness. He presents five case studies in both literature and music.Since the beginning of the 18th century the philosophy of art has been engaged on the project of defining fine arts by finding out what they have in common. Peter Kivy's purpose is the trace the history of that enterprise and argue that the definitional project has been unsuccessful, with absolute music as the continual stumbling block. His fruitful change of strategy entails exploring the differ ences between the arts instead of engaging in an obsessive quest for sameness. He presents five case studies in both literature and music.Since the beginning of the eighteenth century, the philosophy of art has been engaged in the project of defining fine arts by finding out what they have in common. Peter Kivy's purpose is to trace the history of that enterprise and argue that the definitional project has been unsuccessful, with absolute music as the continual stumbling block. His fruitful change of strategy entails exploring the differences among the arts instead of engaging in an obsessive quest for sameness. He presents five case studies in both literature and music.Preface; 1. How We Got Here, and Why; 2. Where we are; 3. Reading and representation; 4. On the unity of form and content; 5. The laboratory of fictional truth; 6. The quest for musical profundity; 7. The liberation of music; Epilogue; Notes; Bibliography. Peter Kivy's book is an extlƒf