How is art relevant to our yearning for flourishing? In this episode, I interview philosopher Daniel McInerny about his new book, Beauty and Imitation.

Dr. Daniel McInerny is associate professor and chair of the philosophy department at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. He is also a novelist and dramatist. As a scholar, Daniel is foremost interested in reactivating an Aristotelian understanding of mimetic art, long out of favor among philosophers. His latest book is Beauty and Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts. At Christendom College Daniel teaches courses on the Philosophy of Art & Beauty, the Philosophy of Technology, the Philosophy of Culture, and Poetic Experience & Truth. In March 2023 Chrism Press published his novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair. Daniel is also the author of a play, The Actor, which will premiere in November 2024. Daniel also writes the Substack newsletter, The Comic Muse, where he shares stories and sketches from his studio.

In this first part of our conversation, we talk about:

• What is mimetic art?
• Mimetic art as storytelling
• Delighted contemplation as the ultimate goal of art

To learn more about Daniel and his work:

Newsletter: https://danielmcinerny.substack.com/
Beauty and Imitation: https://a.co/d/cNquN03
The Good Death of Kate Montclair: https://a.co/d/0KKy0PS 

This episode is sponsored by:
John Templeton Foundation (https://www.templeton.org/)
Templeton Religion Trust (https://templetonreligiontrust.org/)

Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2043099/support)