DSC 301. I.A.Richards. Chap 1. 26,

Chapter 1: The Chaos of Critical Theories.

Critique of Past Criticism: Richards argues that traditional literary criticism by philosophers, moralists and past scholars lacks scientific rigour and substantive consistency.

The Need for Science: He asserts that criticism must adopt systematic, empirical method and grounded in psychology to understand human responses to art rather than relying on empty praise or vague flattery. 

The objective of this chapter is explaining how to get most out of something, how to read a book, how to listen to music or how to write poetry. What is the function of critique or criticism to which Richards brings in the famous utterances of Aristotle, Longinus, Horace, Boileau, Dryden, Addison, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Carlyle, Mathew Arnold and other modern authors to justify his assertion. Some of these lines are, "All men naturally receive pleasure from imitation," "Poetry is chiefly conversant about general truth," "It demands an enthusiasm allied to madness," etc. 

To understand human mind, factual dates may be essential. Philosophers Aestheticians and Moralists are enough to define criticism. Critics can analyse art works and literature and his Chapter 1 exposes the disorganized, unscientific and impressionistic state of traditional literary criticism.

Key Concepts are The Chaos of Opinions: Richards argues that critical theory is filled with isolated observations, dogma, metaphors and oratory rather than systematic truth.

Failure of Past Critics: He critiques major historical figures including Aristotle, Coleridge, and Wordsworth stating their declarations often reduce to brilliant guesses or personal whims instead of verifiable principles.

Need for a Scientific Approach: Richards asserts that criticism must adopt a scientific, psychological foundation to study how human minds actually respond to art and literature.

The Central Question of Value: He frames the core problem of aesthetics, why we value art, how different experiences of art can be compared and what makes one aesthetic response superior to another.

His book, Principles of Literary Criticism directly points out to the activity of deriving value from the arts, especially the art of poetry. In many ways, the basis of all Richards’ statements on criticism, his argument sets into action the fundamental, critical and artistic theories in search of value of art. He begins this complex study by indicating several impediments, which often preclude valid criticism. The first is, “experimental aesthetics” in the arts, where futile attempts are made with human tastes and actions to suit laboratory examination. Second, criticism tends to concentrate on secondary aspects of the arts and thereby ignores the subject of value. Third, the language of criticism causes misunderstanding because of its vague, often deceiving vocabulary. A suitable instance would be the critics who speak of objects of art as if the objects themselves possess qualities, whereas what they should say is that the objects evoke effect.