Aesthetic Cognitivism
abstract
Is beauty a feature of objects in the world; or a feature of our individual experience of objects; or the result of aesthetic education and training, modulated by social culture? I argue that aesthetic properties are like perceptual properties, understood as Constitutionalism explains them: as real features of objects in the world that fully manifest themselves only in causal interaction with suitable perceivers. I here develop Constitutionalism to provide a metaphysical account of aesthetic properties in terms of causal powers. Like perceptual properties, aesthetic properties are (multi-track and multi-stage) powers of objects that mutually manifest with relevant powers of the perceiver. On this basis, I argue that aesthetic judgements, like perceptual judgements, are apt for truth and falsity, and their truth value derives from the reliable experiences that produce them.
Keywords: Perceptual properties • Cognitivism • Reliabilism • Aesthetic properties • Constitutionalism • Causal powers