What do We Understand in a Work of Art? The Hermeneutic Core of Aesthetics

Abstract

In front of a work of art, we admire beauty or other aesthetic qualities, but the essence of the work of art lies in its origin. Through a palaeoanthropological investigation into the conditions that made art possible, we suggest that in a work of art we essentially understand its being produced by human beings. I call this understanding 'radical understanding': it is the minimal content of all artistic production, the reminder of its historical character.

Keywords

Radical Understanding / Hermeneutics / Heidegger

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