Abstract

First Glance

The article presents information about the book "Principles of Literary Criticism," by I.A. Richards. Much might have been expected from his book, partly because it appears in an excellent series, the International Library of Psychology, Philosophy, and Scientific Method, and partly because Richards helped to write an earlier volume in the series, "The Meaning of Meaning," which threw a great deal of light upon problems of definition. He most distinguishes himself by the claim he makes for the arts. They are no plaything, he insists, nor, in case one takes them seriously, should one deal with them as if they functioned in a separate, mysterious, aesthetic realm. Aesthetic experience to him is only one phase of experience, goodness in art is not so very different from any other kind of goodness.