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    Lessing's argument presupposes a strict homology between ... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Poetry can represent a body only by describing an action in which the body is made, used, or otherwise involved.

    Lessing's argument presupposes a strict homology between a medium's physical properties and its representational capacities, which Goodman's Languages of Art shows is not warranted.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Goodman demonstrates that representational systems are conventional: the same physical medium (paint) can denote different things based on cultural/contextual rules.
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    • 2.Lessing ties narrative sequentiality to temporal media (literature) and spatial simultaneity to visual media, but digital art violates these correlations.
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    • 3.A photograph's causal relation to its subject differs physically from painting, yet both can represent identically—showing medium properties don't determine representational capacity.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Goodman's argument focuses on symbol systems' conventionality, not whether physical properties constrain what can be represented in a given medium.
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    • 2.Even if representation is conventional, the physical properties of media (light, pigment, time) still impose real constraints on what representations are feasible or natural.
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    • 3.Lessing's claim may not require strict homology—only that physical properties create meaningful, non-arbitrary correlations with representational tendencies.
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    Key Terms

    Goodman's Languages of Art(as a foundational work being cited as counterevidence)
    A famous 1968 book by philosopher Nelson Goodman that argues different art forms (music, painting, dance, etc.) are like different 'languages' with their own rules for creating meaning—not just direct copies of reality.
    Lessing(as the author being discussed)
    Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was an 18th-century German philosopher and critic who wrote influential essays about art, literature, and how different art forms communicate meaning.
    Medium (plural: media)(as the physical substance of artistic expression)
    The material or tool used to create art or communicate—like paint for painting, words for writing, or film for movies.
    Presupposes(as describing what Plantinga's argument takes for granted)
    Assumes something to be true without proving it—like how an argument might presuppose that logic works, without first arguing that logic is valid.
    Representational capacities(as the ability to convey meaning or depiction)
    An artwork's or medium's ability to show, depict, or stand for something else—for example, how a painting represents a person or how words represent ideas.
    homology(Phylogenetic biology)
    Similarity or identity among organisms regarded as the result of descent with modification from common ancestors, expressing shared evolutionary history

    Connections

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    Related

    A photograph's causal relation to its subject differs physically from painting, ...Even if representation is conventional, the physical properties of media (light,...Goodman demonstrates that representational systems are conventional: the same ph...Goodman's argument focuses on symbol systems' conventionality, not whether physi...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    +3 moreShow less
    Lessing ties narrative sequentiality to temporal media (literature) and spatial ...Lessing's claim may not require strict homology—only that physical properties cr...Poetry can represent a body only by describing an action in which the body is ma...