Explanation and Value in the Arts

An interdisciplinary study of explanation and the construction of value regarding works of literature and painting.

Penetrating studies by a group of art historians, literary theorists, and philosophers consider 'explanation' of works of literature and painting.Explanation and Value in the Arts offers penetrating studies by art historians, literary theorists and philosophers, of issues central to explaining works of literature and painting. The first chapters look at the sources of interest in the fine arts and point to the intimate relation between aesthetic and other values. The following contributions develop the interaction between value and explanation by examining the construction of value in the study of the arts, including considerations of the nature of creativity and the principles for the explanations of works. A final section takes up questions of the role of ideology and the determining role of power.