The Double Content Of Art

In this original work on aesthetics, philosopher John Dilworth offers an unusual theory of the nature of artworks. The Double Content (DC) view is the first comprehensive theory of art that is able to satisfactorily explain the nature of all kinds of artworks in a unified way - whether paintings, novels, or musical and theatrical performances. Dilworth’s basic thesis is that all such representational artworks involve two levels or kinds of representation: a first stage in which a concrete artefact represents an artwork, and a second stage in which that artwork in turn represents its subject matter. Thus, Dilworth describes his approach as a double content (DC) theory, since arguably all content is the content of some representation or other.