Single Idea 12167

[catalogued under 21. Aesthetics / B. Nature of Art / 4. Art as Expression]

Full Idea

Characteristic of expression is the presence of 'reference' without predication.

Gist of Idea

Reference without predication is the characteristic of expression

Source

Roger Scruton (Representation in Music [1976], p.71)

Book Reference

Scruton,Roger: 'The Aesthetic Understanding' [Methuen 1983], p.71


A Reaction

This echoes (in linguistic terms) Kant's thought that art is 'purposive without purpose'. The remark is comfortable in an essay on music, but it gets more tricky when the topic is literature, or even representational painting.