Aesthetic disagreements tend to go awry when we approach them as though the ultimate goal is to win. They will go better if we approach them with humility. Continue reading
March 23, 2021
by Matt Strohl
0 comments
March 23, 2021
by Matt Strohl
0 comments
Aesthetic disagreements tend to go awry when we approach them as though the ultimate goal is to win. They will go better if we approach them with humility. Continue reading
March 18, 2021
by Aesthetics for Birds
4 Comments
NFTs are an attempt to create value. It is very true that this may help artists, and to the extent that this is really at the heart of any of the thinking around it, it should be commended. But we should ask whether that’s really the best solution. Continue reading
March 18, 2021
by Anthony C.
6 Comments
What is the artistic status of an NFT? And is it a good thing or a bad thing for creativity in the art world? Continue reading
February 26, 2021
by Aesthetics for Birds
3 Comments
True diversification will ultimately require aesthetic integration to create something new that appeals to a diverse constituency. Continue reading
February 12, 2021
by Aesthetics for Birds
1 Comment
The context of gameplay, the enchanting interactive and immersive effects, plays a role in limiting rationality and enabling exploitation. Continue reading
October 27, 2020
by Aesthetics for Birds
12 Comments
Is it ever morally wrong to commit violent or immoral acts in a video game? Is it ever morally wrong to harm a photograph? Yes. Let me explain why. Continue reading
September 9, 2020
by Matt Strohl
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What follows is a co-authored post by Brandon Polite and Matthew Strohl. It is the first piece in a two-part series. See part two here. The ascendancy of the internet has generated a wide range of difficult new questions for philosophers of aesthetics. Our concern in this piece is the way the internet has reshaped aesthetic discourse and has made aesthetic disagreement far more immediate and pervasive. Social media allows users to broadcast their evaluations of artworks to hundreds or thousands of followers any time of day and, as a result, has ushered in the Golden Age of Everyone Having an Opinion. We are specifically concerned with the general tendency of the internet to promote hostility in aesthetic discourse. Rampant hostility has emerged in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from large-scale fan movements to remake a poorly received season of a widely loved television series or a controversial entry … Continue reading
September 3, 2020
by Anthony C.
1 Comment
Aesthetic styles associated with particular subcultural communities aren’t new. So what’s so significant about internet aesthetics like “dark academia”? Continue reading
June 18, 2020
by Aesthetics for Birds
4 Comments
Removing statues is powerfully symbolic; how we treat them in their death is too. Continue reading
April 16, 2020
by Alex King
0 comments
What follows is a guest post by Jay Miller. Recently, a draft proposal of a presidential executive order was obtained and printed by the Chicago Sun-Times. Under the banner of “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again,” the leaked document effectively mandates the classical style of architecture for all federal buildings in the U.S. It seeks to right the wrongs of modernist architecture by officially proclaiming the classical style of architecture “the preferred and default style” for federal buildings. The proposal proceeds by first identifying the culprits: It blames the federal government for “largely abandon[ing] traditional, classical designs” in the 1950s; it accuses the General Services Administration (GSA) of overseeing “aesthetic failures”; even more specifically, it takes aim at the “Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture,” drafted in 1962 by an aide of the Kennedy administration, for having “implicitly discouraged” classical and other designs “known for their beauty.” Yet, the real target of … Continue reading