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Zusatztext Lopes writes in a very engaging and accessible way ... those much less versed than he can expect to come away with a better understanding of what he shows to be an interesting subject. This is philosophical writing of a very high order! to my mind. Lopes is a master of simple! intriguing and compelling arguments ... [he] is to be congratulated on producing a first-class work in philosophical aesthetics. Klappentext There is not one but many ways to picture the world--Australian "x-ray" pictures! cubish collages! Amerindian split-style figures! and pictures in two-point perspective each draw attention to different features of what they represent. Understanding Pictures argues that this diversity is the central fact with which a theory of figurative pictures must reckon. Lopes advances the theory that identifying pictures' subjects is akin to recognizing objects whose appearances have changed over time. He develops a schema for categorizing the different ways pictures represent--the different kinds of meaning they have--and argues that that depiction's epistemic value lies in its representational diversity. He also offers a novel account of the phenomenology of pictorial experience! comparing pictures to visual prostheses like mirrors and binoculars. Zusammenfassung Examining the kinds of visual and cultural skills viewers need to have to understand pictures, the author explains why pictures can be understood out of their cultural and historical context, as well as how visual images can convey messages other forms of media cannot. Inhaltsverzeichnis I Pictures as Perceptual 1: Representation and Resemblance 2: Depiction and Vision II Pictures as Symbols 3: Goodman's Symbol Theory 4: Symbols and Substitutes 5: Pictorial Reference III Aspect Recognition 6: Pictorial Content 7: Pictorial Recognition 8: Pictorial Meaning 9: Pictorial Experience IV Applications 10: Fictive Pictures 11: Picturing Pictures Bibliography Picture Credits Index ...
