Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Watson, Kendall L. / Walton, Kendall, PUBLISHER: Harvard University Press, Representations--in visual arts ong>anong>d in fiction--play ong>anong> importong>anong>t part in our lives ong>anong>d culture. Kendall Walton presents here a theory of the nature of representation, which illuminates its mong>anong>y varieties ong>anong>d goes a long way toward explaining its importong>anong>ce. Drawing ong>anong>alogies to children's make believe activities, Walton constructs a theory that addresses a broad rong>anong>ge of issues: the distinction between fiction ong>anong>d nonfiction, how depiction differs from description, the notion of points of view in the arts, ong>anong>d what it meong>anong>s for one work to be more "realistic" thong>anong> ong>anong>other. He explores the relation between appreciation ong>anong>d criticism, the character of emotional reactions to literary ong>anong>d visual representations, ong>anong>d what it meong>anong>s to be caught up emotionally in imaginary events. Walton's theory also provides solutions to the thorny philosophical problems of the existence--or ontological stong>anong>ding--of fictitious beings, ong>anong>d the meong>anong>ing of statements referring to them. ong>Anong>d it leads to striking insights concerning imagination, dreams, nonliteral uses of long>anong>guage, ong>anong>d the status of legends ong>anong>d myths. Throughout Walton applies his theoretical perspective to particular cases; his ong>anong>alysis is illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from literature, painting, sculpture, theater, ong>anong>d film. "Mimesis as Make-Believe" is importong>anong>t reading for everyone interested in the workings of representational art.