Art's Claim to Truth (Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts)

Art's Claim to Truth (Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts) by Vattimo, Gianni. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780231138505.

First collected in Italy in 1985, Arts Claim to Truth is considered by many philosophers to be one of Gianni Vattimos most important works. Newly revised for English readers, the book begins with a challenge to Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel, who viewed art as a metaphysical aspect of reality rather than a futuristic anticipation of it. Following Martin Heideggers interpretation of the history of philosophy, Vattimo outlines the existential ontological conditions of aesthetics, paying particular attention to the works of Kandinsky, which reaffirm the ontological implications of art. Vattimo then builds on Hans-Georg Gadamers theory of aesthetics and provides an alternative to a rationalistic-positivistic criticism of art. This is the heart of Vattimos argument, and with it he demonstrates how hermeneutical philosophy reaffirms arts ontological status and makes clear the importance of hermeneutics for aesthetic studies. In the books final section, Vattimo articulates the consequences of reclaiming the ontological status of aesthetics without its metaphysical implications, holding Aristotles concept of beauty responsible for the dissolution of metaphysics itself. In its direct engagement with the works of Gadamer, Heidegger, and Luigi Pareyson, Arts Claim to Truth offers a better understanding of the work of Vattimo and a deeper knowledge of ontology, hermeneutics, and the philosophical examination of truth.