This volume of specially written essays by leading philosophers offers to set the agenda for the philosophy of depiction.

The focus of this paper is on E. H. Gombrich's claim that pictorial perception is a case of illusion. My aim is to point out that, on the one hand, the interpretation of this claim that is widely accepted in pictorial theory is not supported by Gombrich's analysis of pictorial perception; and, on the other hand, that the interpretation of the claim that I see as more compatible with Gombrich's analysis is not consistent with relevant facts about our relation to (...) pictures. However, I will argue, Gombrich's elaboration of the claim of illusion is significant to the extent that it highlights important aspects of the system of pictorial representation. (shrink)

A specific type of collaboration has become prevalent in contemporary art: in this type of collaboration—henceforth, commissioning—an artist assigns the production of the work of art to skilled craftsmen or unskilled workers, directing their labor through instructions or blueprints. Commissioning has been accepted by the art world as a legitimate mode of artistic production—legitimate in the sense that it does not undermine the authenticity of the work as a creation of the artist, even if she has not laid a hand (...) for its production. Moreover, commissioning seems to be regarded as irrelevant to the nature of the work of art—specifically, to its artistic properties—and, thus, to its proper appreciation, as is.. (shrink)

Abstract:In Book X of the Republic, Plato develops a structured criticism of the images of painting in order to denigrate, by means of analogy, the cognitive value of poetry. Yet Plato persistently employs verbal images at points of utmost importance with regard to his philosophical aims. In the face of Plato’s critique of the image, his methodic use of images can seem paradoxical: critique and method point in opposing directions with regard to the cognitive value of the image. The aim (...) of this article is to promote a moderate cognitivist stance on Plato’s use of verbal images, using to this end the understanding that contemporary philosophy affords us. Operating through the lens of the metaphor of “philosophical paintings,” which they deem as apt and instructive, the authors (a) trace in Book X’s critique of painting the specific properties of the verbal images that can allow a cognitive function in the context of philosophical instruction, (b) examine and refute a pertinent objection to this moderate cognitivist stance, and (c) argue for the overall consistency between the critique of Book X and Plato’s use of verbal images, drawing on evidence in Plato’s practice that he acknowledges the risk of the image’s allure and is proactive in relation to this risk. (shrink)

The idea that pictorial art can have cognitive value, that it can enhance our understanding of the world and of our own selves, has had many advocates in art theory and philosophical aesthetics alike. It has also been argued, however, that the power of pictorial representation to convey or enhance knowledge, in particular knowledge with moral content, is not generalized across the medium.