Salvador

Dali
 9
What is

Aesthetics ?
 6
the branch of philosophy concerned
with the nature and appreciation
of art, beauty and good taste.

"critical reflection
 on art, culture and
nature".
 "aesthetics"

"of
sense
G
R
perception"
E
E
K

aisthetikos
Philosophy of
Aesthetics.
 Philosophy of
Art Beauty

aesthetic judgments (the
appreciation of any object, not
necessarily an art object) and
 
artistic judgments (the
appreciation or criticism of a
work of art)
 it examines what makes something

 
beautiful, 
sublime, 
disgusting, 
fun, 
cute, 
silly, 
entertaining, 
pretentious, 
discordant, 
harmonious, 
boring, 
humorous or 
tragic.
Dfurn. Judgments of
beauty
are sensory,
emotional,
and intellectual 
all at once.
A e s t h e ti c
Judgements

Judgements of aesthetic
value rely on our ability to
discriminate at a sensory
level, but they usually go
beyond that.
 Concept According to
Immanuel Kant

1. O b j e c ti ve and Universal 2. S u b j e c ti ve

In a viewer’s interpretation of
beauty, there is taste and it
certain things are
varies according to class,
beautiful to everyone cultural background and
education.
all aestheti c judgments are  
culturally conditi oned  to some extent, and
can change over ti me

Judgments of aestheti c value can also become

linked to judgments of  economic , politi cal  or 
moral value

I t s h o u l d a l s o b e b o r n e i n k i n d t h at
t h e   i m p re c i s i o n   a n d   a m b i g u i t y   a r i s i n g f ro m t h e
u s e o f   l a n g u a ge   i n a e st h e ti c j u d g m e nt s ca n l e a d to
m u c h   co n f u s i o n
 What is Art?
• s o m e   s k i l l   i s b e i n g u s e d t o e x p r e s s t h e a r ti s t ’s c r e a ti v i t y, o r

• t o e n g a g e t h e a u d i e n c e ’s a e s t h e ti c s e n s i b i l i ti e s , o r

• t o d r a w t h e a u d i e n c e t o w a r d s c o n s i d e r a ti o n o f t h e “ fi n e r ” t h i n g s .
 Denis Dutton’s
Aestheti c Universals
seven universal signatures
s t a r ti n g p o i n t   f o r t h e c o n s i d e r a ti o n o f a e s t h e ti c s :

Expertise or Virtuosity Imagination Imitation Style

Technical artistic skill are
cultivated, recognized and
admired.
With a few important Artistic objects and
Artists and their audiences
exceptions-music, abstract performances satisfy rules of
entertain hypothetical worlds in
painting. Works of art stimulate composition that place them in
the theatre od imagination.
experiences of the world. recognizable ways.

Non-Utilitarian Pleasure Criticism Special Focus

People enjoy art for art's sake, People make a point of judging, Art is set aside from ordinary life
and don’t demand the practical appreciating, and interpreting and made a dramatic focus of
value of it works of art. experience
Theory of
Beauty
falling within
aesthetics
and
aesthetics
overlapping
with
philosophy of
art.
 Classical Theories:
1. Plato felt that beautiful objects
incorporated proportion, harmo
ny and unity among their parts.

2. Aristotle found that the universal

elements of beauty
were order, symmetry and defin
iteness.

3. Aesthetics was inseparable from

morality and politics for both
Aristotle and Plato.
end