Aesthetic Properties
feeling or aesthetic high that one gets from looking at an artwork.
Formal/non-aesthetic
properties that say nothing of value of the work, usually recognized by sight.
Relativists
beauty and aesthetic properties are subjective and based upon the person viewing them.
Realists
beauty and aesthetic properties are objective and exist dependent from views and ideals
For objective accounts of beauty, what is the issue with disagreement?
For objectivists, if a disagreement exists, it shouldn’t. Due to beauty being objective everyone should have the exact same view on beauty.
Due to beauty being objective everyone should have the exact same view on beauty.Does this disprove the realist view
No, because the blame is put on the observer, therefore it does not disprove the realist view
What is an internal sense and how does it account for disagreement in whether something is beautiful?
The degree to which one can judge the beauty of art, if one has a greater internal sense of beauty, they’re view on the piece is clearer and more accurate than those without the same sense.
Sentiment
A feeling, it cannot be wrong.
Judgement
determination of understanding”, it can be wrong.
For Hume, what makes someone an ideal judge?
Someone who has a refined taste in art. Familiar with many pieces of work and can overcome their own prejudices.
Disinterestedness
not caring for the object’s existence, disconnected from any desire you might have.
When is disinterestedness called for?
When the need to form a purely aesthetic judgement is required.
What is supervenience
Upper-level properties are determined by lower-level properties. Aesthetic properties arise from non-aesthetic properties
How was the relationship used to understand aesthetic and non-aesthetic properties?
If non-aesthetic properties change, the aesthetic properties must also change.
What would I have to do to make an ugly painting beautiful?
You must change the non-aesthetic (colors, composition, texture) in a way that changes the aesthetic properties to change the beauty of the piece.
Suitable positioning
the positioning of the viewer affects their judgement (Physically or experientially).
How can suitable positioning explain some disagreements in the ascription of aesthetic properties?
Some might fail to see the beauty of the piece if they aren’t in the right positioning.
What is Sibley’s metaphysical claim
Aesthetic properties depend on, or supervene upon, non-aesthetic properties.
What is Sibley’s epistemological claim
What we can know about the aesthetic properties of a work. Recognizing aesthetic properties requires a special sensitivity or perceptual capacity, and it cannot come from pure logical or formal analysis of non-aesthetic properties
What are the categories of art?
Genres, styles, or forms of artwork. (Painting, sculpture, music)
How do categories of art relate to aesthetic properties?
Aesthetic properties are judged within the context of the categories
Standard properties
Determine category measurement (Words = literature)
Contra-standard properties
Traits that negate a category (No words = not literature)
Variable properties
Irrelevant traits to a category.
Intrinsic
Value that something has to itself, for it’s own sake (Painting is beautiful and valuable as such
Instrumental
a value that is a value has because it leads to something else of value (a painting might be valuable because it inspires reflection or cultural understanding.)
Artistic Practices
Techniques, traditions, and conventions used in the creation or evaluation of artworks.
Why should an ontology of art be grounded in artistic practices
In order to refer to a work, one must have a background ontological conception of what work is. You must be able to define what counts as art, and what does not.
What is the physical object hypothesis
Artworks are physical objects, unless they obviously are not
Why did tthe physical object hypothesis have trouble accounting for both works with multiple instances and certain singular works
The theory struggles to account for multiple copies of the same work due to each instance, being a different piece of art. The copies can be damaged, destroyed, or the original damaged, or destroyed. Therefore, changing the work as a whole.
Autographic
works that cannot be duplicated or replicated without losing their identity. (Original painting)
Allographic
works that can be duplicated without losing their identity. (Music, books, etc.)
What is a notation/notational system and how is it used for Goodman’s theory
The notation system is used to determine if a piece is the correct copy of the original work. It is used for Goodman’s theory to make a copy correctly. It is central to the theory to distinguish between autographic and allographic works.
What is an example of a notational system
Musical notion, morse code.
What is the type/token distinction
Conceptual way of organizing items and dictating a relationship between items.
Type
the form or kind of a work. (Beethoven’s symphony)
Token
Individual instances of that type. (The performance of the symphony)
How do we gain knowledge of a type
We must experience the token to gain knowledge about it
What is an example of the type/token distinction?
You can have a e-book (Token) and the actual book itself (Type)
What are norm-kinds?
The criteria that is required for a copy to classify as an instance of the work it is trying to duplicate.
How does this approach differ from identifying instances of a work solely by notation?
For notation, you must get everything exactly correct or the piece is different (Different note mistakenly played makes it a different song.) While Norm-kinds allow for errors in the piece.
What are heuristic paths and how are they used to differentiate works with the same structure?
Heuristic paths are the creative processes or methods used to produce an artwork. They differentiate between works because one may have the same structural features but differ in their creation process.
Indicated
Sound structures that are indicted, fixed, determined, or created specifically by their composer
Eternal
Concept or ideal that is independent of the instance.
How do Eternal and Indicated differ?
Eternal types cannot be created, only discovered. While indicated types can be created.
What are the consequences of holding the belief that abstract objects cannot be created and that artworks are created things?
Holding this belief results in the conclusion that artworks, like sonatas, are not abstract objects like types. They are concrete objects in some particular place or time. This leads to debates on whether artworks are types (Existing independently) or tokens (created instances).