The Foundations of Aesthetics

Introductory Notes.- I The World of Shapes, Colours and Sounds in Direct Aesthetic Evaluations.- 1 Interpretation in Aesthetic Experiences.- Direct Aesthetic Evaluation and “Functional” Evaluation—Concept of Interpretation.- 2 Sensory Qualities.- The Beauty of Sensory Qualities, the Beauty of the Configuration of Quality and the Beauty of Concrete Objects—The Aesthetic Appraisal of Colour and Sound.- 3 Configurations in Space or Time Not Based on Qualitative Relations.- Types of Configurations—The Beauty of Spatial Form—Rhythm.- 4 Configurations of Colours and Spatial Forms.- A Play of Colours—Configurations of Colour Patches in Art—The Configuration of Solids.- 5 The Organization of Tones in Music.- Musical Intervals—The Construction of Melody—Consonances in Musical Configurations—Modes—Modulations—Polytonality—Traditional Music and Other Types of Musical Configurations—On Arbitrariness in Interpreting Musical Structure—What Does “Understanding Music” Mean?—On the Rules of An Aesthetic Configuration.- 6 The Appearance of Real Objects.- Configurations of Sensory Qualities and Objective Interpretation— The Influence of Objective Interpretation on the Shaping of Configurations of Sensory Qualities—Not Only Appearance Decides— The Beauty of Individual Objects.- II On Arts Reproducing Reality.- 7 Two Realities in Art.- The Concept of Reproduction—The Image—Images in the Arts— Images in Music—Musical Illustration—Images Which “ Do Not Speak for Themselves ”—Reproduction by Description—Figurativeness of Description and Non-Imaginary Thinking—The Sequence of Representations—Narration in Images—Aesthetic Attitudes Towards Reproductive Works.- 8 The Problem of Realism.- “The Object Represented” and the Work’s “ Designate ”—Two Fundamental Conceptions of Realism—Realism of Content—Individual Fidelity—Genre Realism—The Realism of the Particular Components of Content—Realism of Execution—Realism of Execution and Description—Illusionism—Realism Establishing a Hierarchy on the Basis of Objective Norms—Subjective Realism— Psychological Realism—Psychological Realism in Painting and Sculpture and Psychological Realism in Acting—The Relativization of the Concept of Realism—“ Socialist Realism ”—The Aesthetic Values of Realism in Art.- 9 The Mode of Interpreting Content and Relation to a Preconceived Theme.- The Composition of Narration in Literary Works—Mode of Emphasizing Content in Paintings—Relation to Theme.- 10 The Direct Beauty of the Reproducing Object.- The Direct Aesthetic Value of Reproducing Works and Their Reproductive Function—The Configurations of Colours and Forms in Pictures—The Acoustic Value of Poetical Works.- 11 The Value of Reality Reproduced.- The Slogan “Not What, But How ”—Communing with Objects Through the Medium of Pictures—The Image as a Substitute for Beautiful Reality—The Beauty of Described Objects in Literary Works—The Aesthetic Value of “ Extra-Aesthetic ” Properties of the Object Reproduced—Two Phases in Artistic Creativeness— Reproducing Arts and the Need for Impressions.- 12 Symbolic Art.- Symbolism in Art—Two Types of Symbolic Works—Symbolism and Aesthetic Experiences.- 13 “Harmony of Content and Form”.- III The Problem of Expression.- 14 Expressive Signs.- The Function of Expression—The Division of Expressive Signs in the View of the Origin of Their Expressiveness—Expression of the Human Body and Expression in Works.- 15 Aesthetic Value and the Expressing of Psychic States.- Expression and Reproduction—The Threefold Value of Expressing Objects—Empathy—Animation—The Communication of Experiences— The Value of Contents Expressed.- 16 Two Concepts of Expression in Aesthetics.- Expression in the Passive and Active Sense—Connections Between the Two Concepts of Expression—The Threefold Origin of Expression in the Active Sense—The Suggestion of Emotional States and Aesthetic Experiences—The Variety of Factors of Evaluation of Expressive Objects.- IV The Foundations of Aesthetics.- 17 Nature and Art.- Nature in Aesthetics—The Beauty of Nature and Unintended Beauty—The Scope of Art and the Concept of Creativeness—The Peculiar Beauty of Nature—The Conviction Regarding the Creator’s Intentions—Intention and Execution—Purposiveness— Purposiveness in Nature—Creativeness—The Craftsmanship of Ensembles—The Aesthetics of Nature and the Aesthetics of Art.- 18 What are Aesthetic Experiences?.- The Sphere of Aesthetic Values—Types of Aesthetic Experiences —Emotional Experiences on the Borderline of Aesthetics—The Concept of Aesthetic Stand—The Aesthetic Attitude to Objects— Disinterested Contemplation—“ Living for the Moment ”—“ Living for the Moment ” and Aesthetic Contemplation.- 19 Beauty and Creativeness.- Aesthetic Values and Aesthetic Experiences—Two Conceptions of Value—Interference of Two Centers of Interest—The Psychology of Aesthetic Emotions and the Science Dealing with Artistic Creativeness—Aesthetic Contemplation and Creative Experiences.- 20 Art and Culture.- Heterotelic Factors in the Development of Art—A Twofold Tradition— Special Values and Multifold Tasks—Criteria of Greatness.- Supplement 1 On Subjectivism in Aesthetics.- Supplement 2 On Research Concerning the Origin of Art Artistic Creativeness and Sexual Life.- Supplement 3 The Role of the Social Milieu in Shaping of Public Reactions to Works of Art.- “ Objective ” and “ Subjective ” Appraisals—The Influence of Evaluation Accepted by a Social Group on the Emotional Reaction of the Individual—Emotional Attitudes to Certain Subjects and Forms—The influence of the Social Milieu on the Interpretation of Works of Art—“ Attitudes Towards Life ” and Aesthetic Sensitivity.- Supplement 4 The Educational Potentialities of Artistic Creativeness.- Index of Names.- List of Illustrations.