What do We Understand in a Work of Art? The Hermeneutic Core of Aesthetics
![](https://api.ppipress.com/imageFile/by-nc.png)
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.
[1]Aujoulat N.(2013).Lascaux. Le geste, l'espace et le temps. Paris: Seuil.
[2]Bataille G.(1955).Prehistoric Paintings: Lascaux, or the Birth of Art. Lausanne: Skira.
[3]Danto A. C.(1981).The Transfiguration of the Commonplace. A Philosophy of Art. Cambridge, London: Harvard University Press.
[4]Darwin C.(2009).The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. Cambrige: Cambridge University Press.
[5]Davidson D.(2001).Inquiries into Truth and Interprtation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[6]Dilthey W.(1996).Hermeneutics and the Study of History: Selected Works. Edited by R.-R.Makkreek. Princeton:Princeton University Press.
[7]Gadamer H.-G.(2004).Truth and Method. Translated by J. M. Marshall. London - New York: Continuum.
[8]Heidegger M.(1996).Being and Time. Translated by J.Stambaugh. Albany: SUNY Press.
[9]Heidegger M.(2002).Off the Beaten Track. Translated by J.-H.Young. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[10]Kant I.(2000).Critique of the Power of Judgement. Translated by P.-M,Guyer. Cambridge et al. Cambridge University Press.
[11]Leroi-Gourhan A.(1993).Gesture and Speech. Cambridge and London: MIT Press.
[12]Loeb A.(2021). Extraterrestrial : The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth. London: Mariner Books.
[13]Manzi. G.(2007). L'evoluzione umana. Omini e uomini prima di Homo sapiens. Bologna: il Mulino.
[14]Quine W. V.(1960).Word and Object. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
[15]Quine W. V.(1969).Ontological Relativity and Other Essays. New York: Columbia University Press.
[16]Simondon G.(2017).On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects. Translated by C.-R.Malaspina. Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press.