AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF ISLAMIC ART BASED ON WITTGENSTEIN'S FAMILY RESEMBLANCE

Abstract

Art and beauty are very clear concepts that everyone understands. However, it is very difficult to provide an accurate definition for these concepts, especially if we look for intrinsic characteristics in the definition, which is the main feature of them. Today, along with the concept of art, other words are added to explain the type of art, like Islamic art, Christian art, committed art, and etc. But what does these added words really add to the meaning of art? The focus of discussion in this paper is on the Islamic clause that sometimes follows art. Perhaps if a precise definition of art could be provided, a better explanation would be offered for the meaning of adverbs added to art. Here, first a definition of art is offered based on Wittgenstein's views in the second period of his life - including language games, and especially, the concept of family resemblance. Then, all the possibilities regarding the adverb added to the art concept are evaluated. This study shows is that providing an analytical definition of Islamic art is as difficult as defining art, but making a comprehensive definition is possible through Wittgenstein's concept of family resemblance.