Tolstoy's 'What is Art?' (Hardcover)

With its demand that works of art be judged according to the their morally didactic content, Tolstoy's reviled aesthetics has seemed to exclude from the canon far too many works widely accepted as masterpieces, including Shakespeare and Beethoven. This book, first published in 1985, argues that these are not mere oversights on the part of Tolstoy: he knew full well the consequences of his line of reasoning. The author contends that, even if we disagree with and eventually reject much of what Tolstoy concludes, his account of the nature and purpose of art is nevertheless worth consideration. Diffey's argument by no means accepts all of 'What is Art?', but by suggesting that the work is best interpreted as a counterpoint to the amoral aestheticism prevalent in Russia at the time, he does much to restore it to a status deserving attention, particularly in today's climate of extreme relativism.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Routledge Library Editions: Tolstoy and Dostoevsky
Release date:	August 2014
First published:	1985
Authors:	Terry Diffey
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 15mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	172
ISBN-13:	978-1-138-78044-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary theory Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > 19th century Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Novels, other prose & writers > General Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Aesthetics Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Aesthetics
LSN:	1-138-78044-8
Barcode:	9781138780446

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!