VALUES OF ART

In this engaging and profound study, the philosopher Malcolm Budd begins by developing an original account of art's distinctive character. Although there are many varieties of artistic success, Budd argues that there is a single value that ranges across the arts and identifies this with the very nature of the experience a work offers, not some effect or insight detachable from this. He then addresses the many problems of appraisal and appreciation in specific art forms, concentrating on pictorial art, poetry, tragedy and music. 'Values of Art' aims to solve many of the main philosophical problems about art, suggesting new ways of understanding the importance of art in our lives.