C.I. Lewis and the outlines of aesthetic experience

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

British Journal of Aesthetics

Publication Date

2004

Volume

44

Issue

4

First Page

378

Last Page

392

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Abstract

The current essay describes aspects of C. I. Lewis’s rarely cited contributions to aesthetics, focusing primarily on the conception of aesthetic experience developed in An Analysis of Knowledge and Valuation. Lewis characterized aesthetic value as a proper subset of inherent value, which he understood as the power to occasion intrinsically valued experiences. He distinguished aesthetic experiences from experiences more generally in terms of eight conditions. Roughly, he proposed that aesthetic experiences have a highly positive, preponderantly intrinsic value realized through contemplation, where the experience is indicative of the object’s reliable and characteristic inherent value. Objections to this account motivate a revised, neo-Lewisian proposal.

DOI

10.1093/bjaesthetics/44.4.378

Print ISSN

00070904

E-ISSN

14682842

Publisher Statement

Copyright © British Society of Aesthetics 2004

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Livingston, P. (2004). C.I. Lewis and the outlines of aesthetic experience. British Journal of Aesthetics, 44(4), 378-392. doi: 10.1093/bjaesthetics/44.4.378

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