There is massive disagreement about the ontology of beauty. For many today, beauty is merely in the eye of the beholder. For others, beauty is an objective reality. I’ve thought a lot about this over the last several years and honestly, I’m still not 100% persuaded either way. I’ve interacted
*Read this series from the beginning.* Kant’s distinctions about the sublime, and, in fact, the two forms of sublime Mathematical and Dynamical, are extremely nuanced and cannot be fully addressed here. But, there are some important points that help lead to the Axis Theory’s understanding of the sublime. Kant begins
*Read this series from the beginning.* If ugly is the ontological opposite of pretty then disgust may be the ontological opposite of beauty. Kant closely ties the concepts of disgust and ugly. However, while Kant is ambiguous about ugly he clearly locates disgust within the imagination, as is beauty. He
Human Drapery 3 by Jordan Wade *Read this series from the beginning.* Historically beauty and aesthetics go hand in hand. The question of beauty is the primary question of aesthetics. In the Thomist tradition, beauty is considered a transcendental with concepts such as the good and the true. If this
Leonardo da Vinci, Grotesque Head, c. 1480-1510 Red chalk on paper, 17.2 x 14.3 cm Windsor Castle, Royal Library *Read this series from the beginning.* Ugly is the ontological opposite of pretty and fills the other side of the Sensual Axis. Where pretty causes sensual delight, the ugly causes sensual
*Read this series from the beginning.* Axis Theory The Axis Theory takes cues from historic conceptions of the sublime and the beautiful, especially Kant, and seeks to harmonize those terms with contemporary usage and my own intuition. As is demonstrated in the diagram, the Axis Theory envisions ugly, pretty, beauty,
*Read this series from the beginning.* Continuum Theory Diagram of Axis Theory For most people today there is a continuum of aesthetic ranking. Thomas Leddy addresses this paradigm in his work on Everyday Aesthetics.[1] There are many terms that can fit along this continuum but my focus will remain on
I have enjoyed using this website as a place to think through aesthetic ideas. I am in the process of developing a systematic theory on philosophical aesthetics. I began talking about these ideas here with the posts On The Beautiful, The Sublime, The Pretty, and the Ugly & Distinguishing between the Pretty and
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