Some Remarks on Descriptive and Negative Aesthetic Concepts: A Critical Note
Some Remarks on Descriptive and Negative Aesthetic Concepts: A Critical Note

Summary/Abstract: This critical note on Tomáš Kulka’s ‘Why Aesthetic Value Judgements Cannot Be Justified’ revisits Kulka’s treatment of what he calls the main thesis of Frank Sibley’s famous essay ‘Aesthetic Concepts’ (1959). According to this thesis, ‘There are no non-aesthetic features which serve as conditions for applying aesthetic terms’, and ‘aesthetic or taste concepts are not in this respect condition-governed’. Kulka argues that this thesis fails to apply to descriptive concepts and some negative aesthetic concepts. In his view there exist concepts that are both aesthetic and condition-governed. We argue against Kulka, seeking to show that he fails to appreciate Sibley’s central thesis.

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