Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a major category of philosophy that deals with the issues of art and beauty. Aesthetics deals with four issues. First, it attempts to philosophically address what art actually is. Second, aesthetics addresses whether a certain creation in the areas of literature, painting, music, or architecture can be classified as “good” or “bad” art. Third, aesthetics also deals with the purpose of art. For example, is art merely self-expression or must it somehow contribute to society in order for it to be considered art? Fourth, aesthetics addresses whether there is some absolute standard for determining and judging art or whether art and beauty are only related to the subjective opinions of a perceiver. The latter perspective is in mind with the adage—“beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

In the ancient world Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus addressed aesthetical issues. In line with his “theory of forms” or “ideas,” Plato viewed “beauty” as an abstract idea that exists outside of our material world. Artists could try to reach the “ideal” beauty, but they should know that all their creations, no matter how good, are only shadows and imperfect representations of the ideal standards of beauty that exist in another dimension. In the modern era, David Hume argued that art and beauty were related to the human mind when he stated, “Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.” With Immanuel Kant in the eighteenth century, aesthetics was given a distinctive place within philosophy.

The issue of aesthetics has become especially relevant in light of recent discussions and court rulings in regard to pornography. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court said states could restrict access to “obscene” materials to maintain a decent society. Its ruling raised issues as to what is “obscene” and whether art and obscenity are linked to absolute standards or whether they are merely human constructions.