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Philosopher

Kendall Walton

Aesthetics

Kendall Lewis Walton, born in 1939, is an American philosopher and Emeritus Charles Stevenson Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. He developed an influential make-believe theory of artistic representation, holding that representational art functions like props in imaginative games, created the transparency thesis of photography, and has contributed significantly to aesthetics, ontology and philosophy of mind.

Facts
Birth Year
1939 1
Defining Moment
Developed the make-believe theory of representational art from 1973 onward, culminating in his 1990 book Mimesis as Make-Believe. 1
Notable Publication
Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the Representational Arts (1990) 1
Office Held
Charles L. Stevenson Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Art and Design, University of Michigan, now emeritus; joined the faculty in 1965 and became Stevenson Professor in 1999 1
Tradition
Analytic philosophy 1
Classification
Nationality
United States 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Kendall Walton (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Infobox, born field
    1939
  • Make-believe theory section, 1973 passage
    Walton has been working on this philosophical theory since 1973
  • Lead section, 1990 magnum opus passage
    Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the Representational Arts
  • Career section, University of Michigan timeline passage
    He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1965, and became Charles L. Stevenson Collegiate Professor in 1999.
  • Infobox, school_tradition field
    Analytic
  • Lead section, nationality sentence
    Kendall Lewis Walton (born 1939) is an American philosopher, the Emeritus Charles Stevenson Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan.
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