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21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 1. Artistic Intentions

[status of an artist's intentions in aesthetics]

14 ideas
Historical interpretation aims to recapture the author's view of the work [Croce]
When viewing art, rather than flowers, we are aware of purpose, and sympathy with its creator [Fry]
When we admire a work, we see ourselves as its creator [Weil]
Intentions either succeed or fail, so external evidence for them is always irrelevant [Wimsatt/Beardsley, by Davies,S]
The author's intentions are irrelevant to the judgement of a work's success [Wimsatt/Beardsley]
The thoughts of a poem should be imputed to the dramatic speaker, and hardly at all to the poet [Wimsatt/Beardsley]
Poetry, unlike messages, can be successful without communicating intentions [Wimsatt/Beardsley]
The intentional fallacy is a romantic one [Wimsatt/Beardsley]
Biography can reveal meanings and dramatic character, as well as possible intentions [Wimsatt/Beardsley]
Without intentions we can't perceive sculpture, but that is not the whole story [Scruton]
The title of a painting can be vital, and the artist decrees who the portrait represents [Davies,S]
We must know what the work is meant to be, to evaluate the artist's achievement [Davies,S]
Intentionalism says either meaning just is intention, or ('moderate') meaning is successful intention [Davies,S]
The meaning is given by the audience's best guess at the author's intentions [Davies,S]