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Abstraction and Representation: Form and Meaning in the Philosophy of Images
YUAN Zhen-wei
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2023.09.015
Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
This article examines the complex interplay between abstraction and representation in the ontology of images. Images inhabit an in-between space as tangible artifacts that also convey intangible ideas and meanings. The analysis synthesizes perspectives from across the history of philosophy to elucidate how images bridge abstraction and representation through their form and function. It engages with ongoing epistemological and aesthetic debates concerning the dual nature of images. Plato’s theory of ideal forms is outlined as an early attempt to define abstraction. Modern semiotic theories are discussed for their insights into how images create meaning through codes and signs. Phenomenology offers an alternative approach by prioritizing the sensorial, affective impact of images. Poststructuralism problematizes representation in the context of mechanical reproduction and simulacra. While diverse, these philosophical frameworks all grapple with the issues images pose between abstract essence and concrete appearance, conceptual ideas and sensory manifestations. The article reveals the richness of images as liminal constructs that collapse dualisms in their creative interfacing of material forms and immaterial meanings. It concludes that this ontological ambiguity empowers images as mediators between imagination and perception, subjectivity and reality.
abstraction, images, semiotics, dualism, Plato
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, September 2023, Vol. 13, No. 9, 716-720
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