Aesthetisation without limits? On the (conflictual) complementarity between ethics and aesthetics Cover Image

Estetyzacja bez granic? O (konfliktowej) komplementarności etyki i estetyki
Aesthetisation without limits? On the (conflictual) complementarity between ethics and aesthetics

Author(s): Agnieszka Rejniak-Majewska
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Review
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: aesthetisation;ethics;aesthetics;Søren Kierkegaard;Wolfgang Welsch;Rafał Michalski

Summary/Abstract: The article is a critical commentary on the book "Między etyką i estetyką. Rozważania nad problemem estetyzacji" ["Between Ethics and Aesthetics. Considerations on the Issue of Aesthetisation"] (Toruń: Wydawnictwo UMK, 2017). Apart from analyzing ideas presented in the book, it provides a reflection on prior discussions on aesthetisation and the Polish reception of the topic, going on since 1990s. Whereas “surface aesthetisation” understood as an economic and PR strategy of embellishment used to be commonly criticized, the postmodern, anti-fundamentalist project of “deep-seated aesthetisation” had been more warmly welcomed. The anthology introduces a new accent in relation to the earlier discussions, because its main concern is the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. Although the book presents various perspectives, the authors generally argue for the need for ethical criteria and complementarity between ethics and aesthetics. In this sense, they counter Wolfgang Welsch’s thesis that “ethics is today in the process of transforming itself into a subdiscipline of aesthetics”.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 33
  • Page Range: 91-108
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish