Book Review: Beauty and Imitation by Daniel McInernry

Beauty and Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts by Daniel McInerny

In an analysis that is both deep and wide-spread, Daniel McInerny explores how art is a reflection of the most fundamental human pursuit and longing. A lot of vague words are used for this end, words like "happiness," "fulfillment," and "flourishing." McInerny rejects the modern answer, namely that each person decides those meanings for themselves. Following the path of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, he argues that human flourishing consists in a life of virtue, a life of moral perfection that strives for the Divine. Art brings us stories and ideas that represent both successful and unsuccessful pursuits, but not in a didactic way. The stories embody that meaning. They reflect or imitate human life, both causing delight in the viewer and causing the viewer to see things in a new light. The works inspire viewers to greater understanding or greater pursuits in their lives.

McInerny has a foundation in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition but uses a lot of contemporary insights into human knowing, artistic representation, and human fulfillment. He readily acknowledges many contemporary artists and thinkers like Flannery O'Connor and David Mamet, Robert Sokolowski and Mortimer Adler. The wide use of resources is a two-edged sword. On the positive side, many concepts are presented in different ways, giving readers multiple ways to gain understanding. On the negative side, familiarity with some of the thinkers and their ideas is needed especially when technical philosophical language is introduced. McInerny does a good job providing a big picture view, but some of the details might seem obscure without knowing what the agent intellect is or the philosophical meaning of "phantasm." The reading requires attention to detail and maybe a little extra research.

The book gives a general overview of artistic understanding in the first half. A bridging chapter presents a Platonic-style dialogue to move readers into the second half. The book continues with a look at various categories of art: music and song, poetry, painting, movies, and stage performances. The application of the theory in these fields makes the ideas in the first part more concrete and helps the reader to apply them to examples beyond the book.

I enjoyed this book very much. The overall argument is interesting and so many insights crop up all over the place that I always found new and interesting ideas or connections. It is a bit daunting to read (400+ pages and the aforesaid technical vocabulary), but is well worth the effort.

Highly recommended.