Abstract

The chapter attempts to articulate the various kinds of content of aesthetic judgements, and so reveal the nature of their claim to intersubjective validity. It begins with descriptive aesthetic judgements, defines the issue of realism and anti-realism, and engages with the proper understanding of judgements which are expressed in sentences that are intended to be understood metaphorically. A short bridge passage identifies an aesthetic judgement whose content is indicative of the content of evaluative aesthetic judgements of all kinds, and in particular evaluative aesthetic judgements about works of art, which the second part of the chapter focusses on. An account of the aim of art is presented, defended against certain objections, and used to illuminate not just singular but also comparative judgements of artistic value. The chapter concludes with remarks about purely aesthetic and specifically artistic value, and evaluative aesthetic judgements of works of art and nature.