What Is Art For?
The author's attempt to substantiate her thesis "that although the arts are a cultural phenomenon, Art might profitably be viewed as a prior, biological one" is thwarted by her muddled approach to biology, anthropology, psychology, cultural histories, and aesthetics. At best, her text is argumentative; more often, it sinks into overblown phraseologies, self-contradictory assertions, and blatant oversights of seminal thought. That artistic behaviors might have a biological basis is an interesting idea, but we shall have to await another work on the subject before evaluating it.Francisca Goldsmith, Golden Gate Univ. Lib., San FranciscoCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.