Sociological Explanations of the Arts (1956)

Abstract

Sociological explanations of the arts seem to encounter difficulties if we take seriously the notion of explanation; they run afoul of basic Humeanism or statistical models of causation. This being from 1956—when Wollheim was in his early 30s and had so far made a name for himself primarily as political philosopher—one could well be surprised at the idea that is hinted at here, one that importantly emerges in the conclusion of his Painting as an Art of 1986: that the value of art should be conceived in terms of human psychology (Freudian psychology, it will transpire in the years to follow). Notice also Wollheim’s notion of ‘seeing-in’ in the second paragraph of section 2 (though it may not have been expressive of any serious commitment at this stage). Wollheim’s prodigious reading is well displayed, not least in the copious footnotes.