Abstract

Presents with mature sense and sensibility the thesis that the image-creating activity of the artist is presupposed by the cognitive systems of the scientist and philosopher. The argument is given in the form of a history of the visual image in seven roughly chronological stages, from paleolithic vitalism to modern constructivism; the application to philosophy is rather suggested than carried out. This account of visual art as the primary mode of cognition should prove suggestive not only to aestheticians, but also to those interested in the theory of emotive meaning, the history of thought, and the problem of "beginning to know."--C. B.