DANIEL BELL
219
"objective" truth and
ar~
becoming more like all the other modes of
human inquiry and subject to all its itching diseases.
This, then, is the rationale for this issue.
It
is not an effort to
survey all the fields, or to become a manifesto for a new "truth." (In
fact, one of the most interesting efforts to yoke science and art as a
common
mode of inquiry, the work of Nelson Goodman, rejects, in
this context, the idea of "truth" and argues for an idea of "rightness"
as a way of seeing, say, the theories of Kepler and the paintings of
Mondrian through a common prism.) It is an effort to call attention
to some interesting work being done in philosophy and social
thought, an exe rcise in awareness.
I cannot say, let the articles "speak for themselves," for one of
the canons of this mode of inquiry is to argue that few things if any,
including facts, speak for themselves . The more appropriate way,
perhaps, of concluding this introduction is to say,
on s'engage, puis on
voit:
let the reader engage the text.
Jacques
BarZun
*
Selected,
Edited,
and
Inttoduced
by
Bea Friedland
"It
is possible to be passionate
and thoughtful, both. There is
so much in art that is difficult,
obscure, deceptive, that we need
to direct upon it all the calm
attention we can muster. The
great critics have done just that."
In this rich collection, Jacques
Barzun's passionate, engaging, and
original mind ranges over music,
aesthetics, biography, criticism, and
social commentary. Along with such
landmark pieces as "Music into
Words," the selections include essays,
program notes, letters, and reviews.
For anyone unfamiliar with Barzun's
work ,
Critical Questions
will serve as
a valuable introduction; others will
be glad to have these pieces together
in a single volume. All will find it
provocative and a pleasure to read.
Paper $3.95
288 pages
The University of Chicago Press
5801 South Ellis Avenue Chicago, IL 60637
