Nehamas Question 1

What does Nehamas mean by saying “Bloom talks of reading “deeply”: I distrust that word, with its suggestion that there is a rock-bottom. Think instead of reading, or looking, or listening, as a broadening of vision. The better you come to know something you love in itself, the better you understand how it differs from everything else, how it does something that has never been done before?”

Here, Nehamas means that, in analysis, one should not be looking for one specific part, otherwise known as the bottom, in a work of art but rather understanding all aspects. Thinking about all the aspects of a work of art in different perspectives and different philosophies gains a broader image of the work of art instead of just finding the "bottom" of it. For example, looking at Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night, one sees a starry night with Cyprus trees, and one may not even know they are Cyprus trees. But if one looks deeper, analyzes more, one will discover more about the art and form one's own opinion about which, with support from others' opinions, can be a completely valid opinion.

Also, if one is a writer or artist, one simply must understand a work "does something that has never been done before," as Nehamas eloquently argues. One cannot write or paint anything better than what one knows and knowing a work of art or literature will expand one's creative mind unthinkably so that one can do something even more innovative than the last innovator.