IS THERE, a" Science of Aesthetics" ? Not yet,that I know of.
mando
On Aug 19, 2009, at 7:03 AM, Chris Miller wrote:
Hands down, this is the most fascinating chapter, so far, because
Ayn finally
talks about several specific artists, and ponders the conflict
between "sense
of life" (which tends to fascinate us ) and "rational
metaphysics" which
rejects every artist that she mentions.
Even her favorite writer, Victor Hugo comes up short, even if "may
project a
blend of reason and passionate emotion":
"I love the work of Victor Hugo, in a deeper sense than admiration
for his
superlative literary genius, and I find many similarities between
his sense of
life and mine, although I disagree with virtually all of his explicit
philosophy"
Wow.
And please note that explicit philosophy is not a matter of
opinion as far as
Ayn is concerned. Philosophy is either right or it's wrong -- so
she is
telling us that the metaphysics of her favorite writer is wrong.
How could she
possibly recommend him?
Thank you, Ayn, for your honesty!
Concerning other writers:
"I like Dostoevsky for his superb mastery of plot-structure and
his merciless
dissection of the psychology of evil, even though his philosophy
and his sense
of life are almost diametrically opposed to mine"
"I like the early novels of Mickey Spillane for his plot ingenuity and
moralistic style, even though his sense of life clashes with mine,
and no
explicit philosophical element is present in his work"
"I cannot stand Tolstoy, and reading him was the most boring
literary duty I
ever had to perform, his philosophy and his sense of life are not
merely
mistaken, but evil, and yet from a purely literary viewpoint, on
his own
terms, I have to evaluate him as a good writer" -- "Tolstoy gives
me the
feeling of an unsanitary backyard which I do not care to enter"
Yes -- don't play in Mr. Tolstoy's backyard, Ayn. It's filthy
back there!
Concerning painters:
"Salvador Dali, whose style projects the luminous clarity of a
rational
psycho-epistemology, while most (though not all) of his subjects
project an
irrational and revoltingly evil metaphysics"
"Vermeer combines a brilliant clarity of style with the bleak
metaphysics of
Naturalism"
"the deliberate blurring and visual distortions of the so-called
"painterly"
school, from Rembrandt on down -- down to the rebellion against
consciousness
expressed by the pheneomenon such as Cubism which seeks
specifically to
disintegreate man's conscousness by painting objects as man does
not perceive
them"
So who, other than herself, would she present as a metaphysically
correct
artist?
I don't think there are any!
Which only leaves us with esthetic criteria to make an evaluation
of art and
artists.
Unfortunately, "the esthetic principles which apply to all art,
regardless of
an individual artist's philosophy, and which must guide an objective
evaluation , are outside the scope of this discussion. I will
mention only
that such principles are defined by the science of esthetics - a
task at which
modern philosophy has failed dismally"
As have we all.
____________________________________________________________
Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here!
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/
BLSrjnxRO9pe4gBRmxglMatbUklXZI
LICr5RVnuTk9YdYlJcSL4MkKoOWYI/
