Towards defending a semantic theory of expression in art : revisiting Goodman
Date
2012-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Philosophical Society of Southern Africa
Abstract
Nelson Goodman’s attempt to analyse the expressiveness of artworks in
semantic terms has been widely criticised. In this paper I try to show how the use of
an adapted version of his concept of exemplification, as proposed by Mark Textor,
can help to alleviate the worst problems with his theory of expression. More
particularly I argue that the recognition of an intention, which is central to Textor’s
account of exemplification, is also fundamental to our understanding of
expressiveness in art. Moreover I propose that the recognition of this intention
depends on our interpretation of the artwork – an insight Goodman tried to capture
with his assertion that our attributions of expressive properties to artworks function
metaphorically. The realisation of the context-dependence of our expressive
judgements about art and, hence, of the central role interpretation plays in these
judgements, I contend, counts in favour of theories of expression like Goodman’s that
focus on semantic concerns.
Description
this is a forthcoming article in www.sajp.za.net
Keywords
Metaphorical exemplification, Metaphor in art, Symbolism, Goodman, Nelson, 1906-
Citation
Van Der Berg, S de V. 2012. Towards defending a semantic theory of expression in art : revisiting Goodman. The South African Journal of Philosophy. 31(3).