The Aesthetic Illusion in Literature and the Arts

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The notion of aesthetic illusion relates to a number of art forms and media. Defined as a pleasurable mental state that emerges during the reception of texts and artefacts, it amounts to the readers or viewers sense of having entered the represented world while at the same time keeping a distance from it. Aesthetic Illusion in Literature and the Arts is an in-depth study of the main questions surrounding this experience of art as reality. Beginning with an introduction providing historical background to modern discussions of illusion, it deals with a wide range of theoretical issues. The collection explores the nature and function of the aesthetic illusion as well as the role of affect and emotion, the implications of aesthetic illusion for the theory of fiction, the variable forms of aesthetic illusion and its relationship to other components of aesthetic response. Aesthetic Illusion in Literature and the Arts brings together a team of scholars from philosophy, literature and art and presents an interdisciplinary examination of a concept lying at the heart of contemporary aesthetics.

Reviews

[A] valuable contribution to the developing philosophical literature on immersion. If you're interested in the topic, or in closely-related issues such as "fictional worlds," it should be on your reading list. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
This comprehensive outlook on the familiar yet elusive phenomenon of being absorbed, perceptually stimulated, or even deceived by art will be appreciated by academics, art practitioners, and arts audiences alike. The essays are well-referenced and conceptually precise, and the authors' appetite for polemics is exemplary, making the collection as a whole a rich and enjoyable read. * Aneka Kuzmicov, Research Fellow, Stockholm University, Sweden *
A fascinating array of reflections on the place of the concept of illusion in theorizing about the arts and aesthetic experience. Central to the sort of illusion of most concern here is an experience of an artwork that has a double character, being at once both absorbing and immersive, on the one hand, and distanced and detached, on the other. That there is illumination of this phenomenon to be had for readers of this volume is no illusion. * Jerrold Levinson, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, USA *

Author Bio

Tom Koblek is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Philosophy at the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech Republic.