What does an artist express when creating artwork? What does a perceiver contemplate during an aesthetic experience? This book explores the object of reflection for both creator and viewer, relying on Malgorzata Cazarnocka’s conception of symbolic truth to provide answers.
Michael H. Mitias
Author's books
A Theory of Human Values
Human values do not fall from a metaphysical sky. They originate from the human essence—a universal life force emerging from the natural process. Values arise as an existential response to the desires and essential demands of human nature, a gift to all societies.
Creativity and Aesthetic Theory
This book provides a critical analysis of creativity in art, focusing on artistic creation and aesthetic perception. Long dismissed from aesthetic discourse, it argues that studying creativity is essential to understanding the nature of the artistic and the aesthetic.
Human Dignity and Democracy
What makes a life worth living? This book argues that autonomy is the foundation of dignity and the source of the meaning we crave. A life poor in this meaning, regardless of its wealth or success, is a life lived in the cellar of human existence.