Stylistics: Rethinking the Artforms After Hegel

by Richard Dien Winfield

Winfield develops a systematic theory of the fundamental styles of art, addressing the most neglected area of aesthetics, without which neither cultural divides, artistic periods, nor the fate of art in modernity can be understood. Stylistics thoroughly critiques Hegel's analysis of symbolic, classical, and romantic art in order to conceive the basic modes of artistic style. In so doing, the book presents an alternative to the two most prevalent approaches in the metaphysical mimetic theory pioneered by Plato and Aristotle and the transcendental theory of aesthetic reception pioneered by Hume and Kant and followed by most contemporary theorists. Unlike these two approaches, Stylistics pays due heed to the individuality and unity of meaning and configuration basic to artistic phenomena, making possible a rigorous differentiation of particular forms of artistic style. Because the resulting analysis of style never loses sight of the self-understanding that art provides, Stylistics provides powerful tools for reinterpreting the cultural differences of antiquity and modernity and of East and West.

Genres: Philosophy

148 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Richard Dien Winfield (PhD Yale) is Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia, where he has taught since 1982. Winfield has served as president of the Society for Systematic Philosophy, the Hegel Society of America, and the Metaphysical Society of America.

Reviews

[Alexander Asay · Rating 4 out of 5]

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