The merited response argument and artistic categories
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
Publication Date
8-1-2013
Volume
71
Issue
3
First Page
239
Last Page
246
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
Abstract
The merited response argument is an argument in favor of artistic ethicism. According to this view, the interaction between art and morality is such that a moral defect in a work of art negatively influences the work's artistic value (and a moral merit, when relevant, is always an artistic merit). I contend that the argument relies on a criterion of aesthetic and artistic relevance that, when properly understood, fails to constitute a premise that either the artistic contextualist or the autonomist would accept. I then offer a version of the merited response argument that supports artistic contextualism and argue that, given certain controversial assumptions, immoral art in the Western tradition is more common than typically acknowledged in the recent literature on the topic.
DOI
10.1111/jaac.12017
Print ISSN
00218529
E-ISSN
15406245
Publisher Statement
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Sauchelli, A. (2013). The merited response argument and artistic categories. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 71(3), 239-246. doi: 10.1111/jaac.12017