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Dewey's definition of the subject matter of philosophy of art as aesthetic experience (treating it as a special type of experience) is inconsistent with his definition of aesthetic experience as the aesthetic phase of experience.

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1 reason against

Reasons For

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Reason for 1 of 2

1.Dewey explicitly reserves philosophy of art for 'aesthetic experience' as a distinct subject matter in Art as Experience Ch.1, implying categorical demarcation.
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2.Dewey simultaneously argues in the same text that the aesthetic is a quality potentially present in any experience, making it a phase rather than a kind.
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3.A subject matter defined by categorical distinctness cannot simultaneously be defined as a pervasive qualitative dimension without logical contradiction.
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Reason for 2 of 2

1.Wittgenstein's family resemblance concept shows that treating something as a 'special type' commits one to identifying necessary and sufficient distinguishing conditions.
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2.Dewey's phase-based account, like Aristotle's notion of energeia pervading activity, entails no such boundary conditions—any experience can be aesthetic to a degree.
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3.These two definitional frameworks—type-individuation versus phase-gradation—are structurally incompatible modes of classification, as Quine's work on natural kinds demonstrates.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.Defining aesthetic experience as a special type of experience implies it is categorically distinct from ordinary experience.
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2.Defining aesthetic experience as the aesthetic phase of experience implies it is a dimension present within all experience, not a separate category.
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Topics

Aesthetics

Key Terms

Aesthetic phase of experience(Dewey's alternative way of defining aesthetic experience): A moment or period within regular, everyday experience where you become particularly aware of beauty, form, or artistic qualities—rather than treating aesthetic experience as something completely separate from normal life.
Dewey(the philosopher whose ideas are being discussed): John Dewey was an American philosopher (1859-1952) who believed that philosophy should focus on real human experiences and solving practical problems, rather than abstract theories disconnected from life.
Inconsistent: # Inconsistent Something is **inconsistent** when it contains contradictions or doesn't agree with itself—like saying "I love ice cream" one day and "I hate ice cream" the next day, or a store claiming to be open 24 hours but having locked doors at midnight. In everyday use, it means lacking harmony, reliability, or logical agreement between different statements, actions, or behaviors.
Philosophy of art(the field Dewey was writing about): A branch of philosophy that asks fundamental questions about what art is, what makes something beautiful, and what art means to us.
aesthetic experience(Sulzer's aesthetics): A variety of free and unhindered activity of the representational capacity that produces pleasurable sentiments.
subject matter(Contrasted with Platonic forms to establish a historically situated ontology of artistic content): That which transcends individual artworks yet does not exist apart from its historical embodiments; unlike Platonic forms, subject matters mutate and develop through history

A subject matter defined by categorical distinctness cannot simultaneously be de...Defining aesthetic experience as a special type of experience implies it is cate...Defining aesthetic experience as the aesthetic phase of experience implies it is...Dewey explicitly reserves philosophy of art for 'aesthetic experience' as a dist...

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Dewey simultaneously argues in the same text that the aesthetic is a quality pot...Dewey's phase-based account, like Aristotle's notion of energeia pervading activ...

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Patrick Romanell (1949) held that Croce and Dewey at least share the view that art is about aesthetic experience. However, Dewey’s definition of the subject matter of philosophy of art as aesthetic experience (which treats it as a special type of experience) is inconsistent with his definition of it as the aesthetic phase of experience. Also, when Dewey speaks of aesthetic experience he is not functionalist and is not consistent with his pragmatism. Dewey should have held that just as there is n

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Type: claim
Perspectives: 3 (2 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit

Dewey's definition of the subject matter of philosophy of art as aesthetic experience (treating it as a special type of experience) is inconsistent with his definition of aesthetic experience as the aesthetic phase of experience.

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