On an apparent truism in aesthetics

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

British Journal of Aesthetics

Publication Date

7-2003

Volume

43

Issue

3

First Page

260

Last Page

278

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Abstract

It has often been claimed that adequate aesthetic judgements must be grounded in the appreciator's first-hand experience of the item judged. Yet this apparent truism is misleading if adequate aesthetic judgements can instead be based on descriptions of the item or on acquaintance with some surrogate for it. In a survey of responses to such challenges to the apparent truism, I identify several contentions presented in its favour, including stipulative definitions of 'aesthetic judgement', assertions about conceptual gaps between determinate aesthetic properties and even the most perfect descriptions, and claims about the holistic and sensibility-relative character of aesthetic qualities and values. With reference to considerations advanced by Frank Sibley, Alan H. Goldman, and particularists and anti-particularists in meta-ethics, I contend that strong versions of the apparent truism lack sufficient warrant. Two successors are proposed, however. One reframes the thesis in terms of our contingently limited descriptive and theoretical capacities with regard to a subset of the aesthetic qualities of extraordinary works; the second involves a shift from epistemic to axiological matters: what even the most perfect descriptions cannot provide, and in some cases spoil, is our gauging of an item's inherent, experiential value. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of British Journal of Aesthetics is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

DOI

10.1093/bjaesthetics/43.3.260

Print ISSN

00070904

E-ISSN

14682842

Publisher Statement

Copyright © British Society of Aesthetics Press 2003.

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

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Livingston, P. (2003). On an apparent truism in aesthetics. British Journal of Aesthetics, 43(3), 260-278. doi: 10.1093/bjaesthetics/43.3.260

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