The Judgment of Sense

With the rise of naturalism in the art of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance there developed an extensive and diverse literature about art which helped to explain, justify and shape its new aims. In this book, David Summers provides an investigation of the philosophical and psychological notions invoked in this new theory and criticism. From a thorough examination of the sources, he shows how the medieval language of mental discourse derived from an understanding of classical thought.

• William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Art, University of Virginia • •

List of figures; Preface; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The primacy of sight; 2. The fallacies of sight; 3. The harmony of the spheres; 4. The harmony of the senses; 5. The common sense; 6. Spiritus; 7. The light of the piazza; 8. Optics and the common sense; 9. Confused knowledge; 10. Cogitation; 11. The mechanical arts; 12. Prudence; 13. The spark of God; Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

\'This brilliant, stimulating study in the history of ideas should become indispensible for Renaissance art historians, and for philosophers interested in the history of the philosophy of mind and in what might be called the \'pre-history‘ of aesthetics.\' Choice