Miguel de Beistegui, “Aesthetics after Metaphysics: From Mimesis to Metaphor” (Routledge, 2009)
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What is the central question about the nature of art that frames the interview?
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Hello and welcome to New Books and Philosophy, a podcast channel with the New Books Network. I'm Carrie Figor of the University of Iowa and I'm co host of the channel along with Robert Talise. In our bimonthly interviews we converse with philosophers about the ideas expressed in their newly published books. Today's interview is with Miguel de Baystiggy. Professor of Philosophy at the University of Larrick. His latest book is Aesthetics after metaphysics from Mimesis to Metaphor, just out from Routledge. What is the nature of art? The question involves understanding the relation between art and reality and what we're expressing when we use an artistic means of communication rather than ordinary language or everyday craft.
Debisti provides a framework for understanding art that stands in contrast to a metaphysics that posits a sensible world of experience and a supersensible world of forms or essences. One in which art, even non representational and conceptual art, in some cases, exists as a mimetic go between. Dabes Digi suggests instead that art captures an aspect of reality that is literally there, an excess of the sensible that is typically hidden by our everyday practical ways of interacting with and experiencing reality. Our grasp of these features is metaphorical in that they're shared by things that are usually put in distinct categories. But it is an impoverished notion of metaphor that prompts us to think that what is metaphorical is not literally true.
In this ritually suggestive and provocative volume, Dabes de Gui draws on thinkers from Plato and Nietzsche to Merloponti and Danto, and discusses works by a wide range of artists including Proust, De Kuning, and Cheida. To illustrate his view. Let's turn to the interview. Hello, Miguel de Bays Dingy.
Hello.
Hi. Welcome to New Books on Philosophy.
Thank you.
Uh I'm really excited to be talking with you about your new book, uh, Aesthetics After Metaphysics, From Mimesis to Metaphor. It's a it's a short book, um, but it's just packed with a lot of provocative and very interesting philosophical ideas. Um and it covers a great deal of territory. Um, from Heidegger and Deleuze who are part of your um background more than more than mine in particular, um but also a number of uh interesting um artists that I'm not aware of, uh Chilida, for example, Chiida, um, but as well more familiar uh figures such as um De Kooning or Proust. Um Before we get into the details of the book, um I just wanted to um have you say something a little bit about uh your background on the interest um uh of this topic um of art and the nature of art um and the genesis of this particular book.
Right, yes. Well, the th the book um that you mentioned actually began with
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central question about the nature of art that frames the interview?
0:00–7:19
2
How does de Beistegui contrast the traditional mimetic view of art with his metaphorical framework?
7:19–15:04
3
What is the ‘hypersensible’ and how does it change our understanding of artistic truth?
15:04–23:20
4
In what way does artistic vision differ from ordinary perception according to the book?
23:20–31:22
5
How does Nietzsche’s concept of ‘truth to the earth’ reshape the link between art and truth?
31:22–39:22
6
Why does de Beistegui see conceptual art as both a challenge and a continuation of his metaphorical theory?
39:22–46:22
7
What role do ‘virtualities’ like the Albertine example play in illustrating metaphorical truth?
46:22–53:16
8
What new research directions (e.g., bioethics, desire) is the author pursuing beyond this book?
53:16–59:33
Speakers
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