Thoughtful Images

Abstract

Thoughtful Images: Illustrating Philosophy Through Art is the first systematic investigation of how artists throughout the ages have illustrated philosophical texts, ideas, concepts, and theories. The book begins by developing a theory of visual illustrations of philosophical texts and undermining what the author calls “the denigration of illustration.” It then takes a more historical approach, beginning in Ancient Greece and Rome and proceeding through medieval illuminations and printed broadsides to the frontispieces of philosophical texts. Throughout, attention is paid to how technological developments enable different means for illustrating philosophy. Painting takes center stage in two chapters that consider how oil paintings illustrate philosophy. The first focuses on three philosophers who use paintings to elucidate their complex theories. The next chapter investigates whether Abstract Expressionism and subsequent art actually do philosophy in a visual medium. The next two chapters are devoted to visual artists’ attempts to illustrate Ludwig Wittgenstein’s texts and ideas. The impact of Wittgenstein’s ideas on artists is remarkable, and the book examines their attempts to illustrate his ideas. The final substantive chapter of the book considers what the author terms graphic philosophy, that is, comics that take philosophy as their subject matter. After developing a theory of comic illustrations, the author looks at four works of graphic philosophy to consider how this relatively new artform is able to develop philosophical ideas. All in all, Thoughtful Images is an innovative work that brings needed attention to a neglected artistic tradition.