On: Aesthetics (Part 2)
c>log
THE EXPERIENCE OF ART
Modern discussions about how art is experienced have been dominated by theories devised in the 18th century to describe the experience of beauty. As a consequence of these theories, many philosophers still think of the typical experience of art as distanced, disinterested, or contemplative. This experience is supposed to be different, and removed, from everyday affairs and concerns. A few modern aestheticians, especially John Dewey, have stressed the continuity between aesthetic experience and everyday experience and have claimed for the experience of art a psychologically integrative function.
JUDGMENTS & INTERPRETATIONS OF ART
The study of critics' judgments and interpretations of art tries to specify the kind of reasoning involved in such opinions. One question is whether evaluative judgments can be backed by strictly deductive reasoning based on premises descriptive of the artwork in question.
A radical position on this issue is that evaluative judgments are merely expressions of preference and thus cannot really be considered either true or false. With respect to critical interpretations of a work, as distinct from evaluations, a basic question is whether conflicts over interpretations of a work can be definitively settled by facts about the work, or whether more than one incompatible but reasonable interpretation of the same work is possible.
A related concern is what the criteria of relevance are for justifying an interpretation or evaluation. Some aestheticians in the 20th century, for example, have argued that appeals to the artist's intentions about a work are never relevant in such contexts.
Related c>log Articles
On: Aesthetics (Part 1)
On: Aesthetics (Part 3)
On:Aesthetics (Part 4)
THE EXPERIENCE OF ART
Modern discussions about how art is experienced have been dominated by theories devised in the 18th century to describe the experience of beauty. As a consequence of these theories, many philosophers still think of the typical experience of art as distanced, disinterested, or contemplative. This experience is supposed to be different, and removed, from everyday affairs and concerns. A few modern aestheticians, especially John Dewey, have stressed the continuity between aesthetic experience and everyday experience and have claimed for the experience of art a psychologically integrative function.
 |
The study of critics' judgments and interpretations of art tries to specify the kind of reasoning involved in such opinions. One question is whether evaluative judgments can be backed by strictly deductive reasoning based on premises descriptive of the artwork in question.
 |
| True or false? |
 |
| Aesthetics or anaesthetics? |
A related concern is what the criteria of relevance are for justifying an interpretation or evaluation. Some aestheticians in the 20th century, for example, have argued that appeals to the artist's intentions about a work are never relevant in such contexts.
Related c>log Articles
On: Aesthetics (Part 1)
On: Aesthetics (Part 3)
On:Aesthetics (Part 4)
Comments