Social Aesthetics and Moral Judgment: Pleasure, Reflection and Accountability

Abstract

This edited collection sets forth a new understanding of aesthetic-moral judgment organized around three key concepts: pleasure, reflection and accountability. The overarching theme is that art is not merely a representation or expression like any other, but that it promotes shared moral understanding and helps us engage in meaning-making. This volume offers an alternative to brain-centric and realist approaches to aesthetics. It features original essays from a number of leading philosophers of art, aesthetics, ethics, and perception, including Elizabeth Burns Coleman, Garrett Cullity, Cynthia Freeland, Ivan Gaskell, Paul Guyer, Jane Kneller, Keith Lehrer, Mohan Matthen, Jennifer McMahon, Bence Nanay, Robert Sinnerbrink and Nancy Sherman.