Does It Matter If Beauty Is Objective?
Wednesday, 08 May 2024, 16:00-18:00
Senate House, Room 243 (Click to register)
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A familiar question in aesthetics is whether beauty is objective. A less familiar question is whether it would be good if beauty is objective. Should we hope that robust aesthetic realism turns out to be true? Would this be better than the anti-realist and less robustly realist alternatives? Why? Metaethicists have recently been trying to articulate why it matters if moral values are objective. This paper initiates a similar project in aesthetics. I argue that the robust objectivity of beauty would be good in five ways that have not been sufficiently appreciated. Moreover, none of the less robust (and more popular) alternatives to robust objectivity would be good in the same ways and to the same degree.
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Following NHS guidance, all attendees are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated (including boosters) against Covid-19, unless medically exempt. Our group is diverse; please continue to be considerate of those who wear face coverings and those who don’t. Thank you.