Limits of Rightness [Paperback]

Michael Krausz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742511693 | ISBN-13: 978-0742511699 | Publication Date: December 20, 2000

Do cultural artifacts admit of only one single admissible interpretation? Or do they admit of several admissible interpretations? If so, do such multiple interpretations arise only in connection with the material world? And what is the relation between such ideals of interpretation and the ontology of their objects?
In this searching book Krausz considers the conditions under which singularism obtains (where one and only one interpretation is admissible), the conditions under which multiplism obtains (where more than one interpretation is admissible), and, finally the conditions under which neither singularism nor multiplism obtain, hence the "limits of rightness."
When considering the relation between interpretive ideals and the ontology of interpreted objects, Krausz explores and develops varieties of realism, constructivism, and constructive realism. Finally, Krausz extends the notions of singularism and mutliplism to directional life paths and projects.
In the course of his treatment Krausz considers such diverse examples as the paintings of Anselm Kiefer, Cristo's Wrapped Reichstag, Indian burial rites, Hindu and Buddhist soteriologies, as well as middle-sized objects and sub-atomic particles. And he considers contributions of such thinkers as John Searle, Nelson Goodman, Rom Harre, Bernard Harrison and Patricial Hanna, Fritz Wallner, Hilary Putnam, Chhanda Gupta, Joseph Margolis, David Norton, and Martha Nussbaum.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an important book. Anyone who worries about issues centering on realism and relativism will benefit from the precision and elegance with which Krausz lays out issues and the infrastructure of discussions of them. . . Anyone engaged by this topic will be enthralled by Limits of Rightness. (Marcia Muelder Eaton Journal Of Aesthetics And Art Criticism )

"This [ is a ] lucid, absorbing and important book." (Nicholas Maxwell )

"This sturdy, analytically acute book, plac[es] its reader in the hands of an expert guide through. . . intricate and engaging issues. . . . [It] will, for its sustained argumentative rigor, its broad significance, and intellectual vitality, prove essential to philosophers and cultural theorists of any persuasion." (Gary Hagberg )

"This book shows Michael Krausz at the height of his powers. Relentlessly focused on conceptions of interpretation. . . the argument is formidable but clear, and the writing is at times austerely beautiful. The book also provides a paradigmatic example of the way contemporary Anglo-American philosophy advances." (William H. Dray )

About the Author

Michael Krausz is the Milton C. Nahm Professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (December 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742511693
• ISBN-13: 978-0742511699
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,986,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Krausz is Milton C. Nahm Professor of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College. He is the author of Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices, Varieties of Relativism (with Rom Harré), Limits of Rightness, Interpretation and Transformation: Explorations in Art and the Self, and Dialogues on Relativism, Absolutism and Beyond: Four Days in India. Krausz is also contributing editor or co-editor of eleven volumes on relativism, rationality, interpretation, cultural identity, creativity, and related themes. He has taught at the University of Toronto, Georgetown University, Oxford University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, American University in Cairo, University of Nairobi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and University of Ulm. See also the festschrift: Interpretation and Its Objects: Studies in the Philosophy of Michael Krausz."

As a visual artist, Michael Krausz has had thirty-three solo and duo exhibitions in galleries in the U.S., U.K., and India. As a musician, Krausz is the founding Artistic Director and Conductor of the Great Hall Chamber Orchestra, comprised of forty young professional musicians, collaborating as soloists with principal players of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Krausz also teaches Aesthetics at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.