Theories of beauty, art, and aesthetic experience, including major positions on what makes something art.
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- What was Plato's theory of beauty?
- Beauty is an eternal, unchanging Form or Idea that physical objects imperfectly imitate.
- What does Aristotle mean by mimesis?
- Imitation or representation of reality, which Aristotle saw as central to art's function.
- Define aesthetic experience.
- An experience of objects or events valued for their intrinsic qualities rather than practical utility.
- What is Kant's key claim about aesthetic judgment?
- Aesthetic judgments are subjective but claim universal validity, and they involve disinterested pleasure.
- What is the sublime, according to Kant?
- An aesthetic experience of vastness or overwhelming power that initially unsettles us but ultimately elevates the mind.
- What did Hume propose about aesthetic disagreement?
- There is a standard of taste grounded in the agreement of experienced, trained observers across time and culture.
- What is the institutional theory of art?
- Something is art if and only if the artworld (artists, critics, museums, institutions) confers status as art upon it.
- What is formalism in aesthetics?
- The view that aesthetic value derives primarily from the formal properties of a work (shape, color, composition) rather than content or subject matter.
- What is the expression theory of art?
- Art is the expression of the artist's emotions, feelings, or inner states in sensible form.
- What is representation in art theory?
- The use of symbols, images, or forms to stand for or depict something other than themselves.
- What did Marcel Duchamp argue with ready-made art?
- That everyday objects can become art through the artist's choice and context, challenging traditional definitions of art.
- What is taste in aesthetic theory?
- The capacity to discriminate and appreciate aesthetic qualities, cultivated through experience and education.
- What distinguishes art from craft?
- Art is valued for intrinsic aesthetic or expressive qualities, while craft is valued primarily for functional skill or utility.
- What is the central problem of defining art?
- No single property is shared by all artworks, yet we intuitively recognize most things as art or not.
- What are aesthetic properties?
- Properties that make something worthy of aesthetic attention, like being graceful, delicate, garish, or elegant.