Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questionsin philosophy of science, most n... more Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questionsin philosophy of science, most notoriously, but also in philosophy of logic, and aesthetics. The question of how to demarcate science from pseudo-science, once regarded as central, commands relatively little attention today. In the philosophy of logic, by contrast, the problem of demarcating the logical constants is far less skeptically regarded. In aesthetics, where the problem is how to demarcate art from non-art, the question as to whether the problem is a real one or a pseudo-problem also continues to be debated. The hypothesis that the demarcation questions in these three areas are parallel,
An Anthology of Philosophical Studies (volume 7), 2013
Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questions – in philosophy of science, mos... more Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questions – in philosophy of science, most notoriously, but also in philosophy of logic, and aesthetics. The question of how to demarcate science from pseudo-science, once regarded as central, commands relatively little attention today. In the philosophy of logic, by contrast, the problem of demarcating the logical constants is far less skeptically regarded. In aesthetics, where the problem is how to demarcate art from non-art, the question as to whether the problem is a real one or a pseudo-problem also continues to be debated. This paper discusses the hypothesis that the demarcation questions in these three areas are parallel, or at least similar enough to be interesting. Some arguments for the conclusion that the demarcation problem is a pseudo-problem are considered, as are some demarcation proposals of a deflationist or minimalist sort.
There is fairly wide agreement that most works of art are made to be appreciated; that a signifi ... more There is fairly wide agreement that most works of art are made to be appreciated; that a signifi cant amount of art appreciation is aesthetic; that defi nitions of art that do not illuminate why art is valued, leave important philosophical work undone; that art has vague boundaries: some things are clearly artworks, some are clearly not, and some are on the borderline; that, if natural kinds are 9781847063700_Ch03_Fpp_txt_prf.indd 39 9781847063700_Ch03_Fpp_txt_prf.indd 39
The cluster account of art is a purportedly non-definitional account of art, inspired by W ittgen... more The cluster account of art is a purportedly non-definitional account of art, inspired by W ittgenstein's notion of family resemblance, and recently defended by Berys Gaut. Gaut does not provide good reasons to think that art is not definable, and his approach to possible counterexamples to the cluster account would, applied consistently, preclude this. The cluster account's theory of error, its resources for accounting for borderline cases, and its heuristic usefulness are not impressive. Reasons strong enough to warrant accepting the cluster account, it is concluded, have not been given.
Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questionsin philosophy of science, most n... more Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questionsin philosophy of science, most notoriously, but also in philosophy of logic, and aesthetics. The question of how to demarcate science from pseudo-science, once regarded as central, commands relatively little attention today. In the philosophy of logic, by contrast, the problem of demarcating the logical constants is far less skeptically regarded. In aesthetics, where the problem is how to demarcate art from non-art, the question as to whether the problem is a real one or a pseudo-problem also continues to be debated. The hypothesis that the demarcation questions in these three areas are parallel,
An Anthology of Philosophical Studies (volume 7), 2013
Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questions – in philosophy of science, mos... more Much philosophical energy has been spent on demarcation questions – in philosophy of science, most notoriously, but also in philosophy of logic, and aesthetics. The question of how to demarcate science from pseudo-science, once regarded as central, commands relatively little attention today. In the philosophy of logic, by contrast, the problem of demarcating the logical constants is far less skeptically regarded. In aesthetics, where the problem is how to demarcate art from non-art, the question as to whether the problem is a real one or a pseudo-problem also continues to be debated. This paper discusses the hypothesis that the demarcation questions in these three areas are parallel, or at least similar enough to be interesting. Some arguments for the conclusion that the demarcation problem is a pseudo-problem are considered, as are some demarcation proposals of a deflationist or minimalist sort.
There is fairly wide agreement that most works of art are made to be appreciated; that a signifi ... more There is fairly wide agreement that most works of art are made to be appreciated; that a signifi cant amount of art appreciation is aesthetic; that defi nitions of art that do not illuminate why art is valued, leave important philosophical work undone; that art has vague boundaries: some things are clearly artworks, some are clearly not, and some are on the borderline; that, if natural kinds are 9781847063700_Ch03_Fpp_txt_prf.indd 39 9781847063700_Ch03_Fpp_txt_prf.indd 39
The cluster account of art is a purportedly non-definitional account of art, inspired by W ittgen... more The cluster account of art is a purportedly non-definitional account of art, inspired by W ittgenstein's notion of family resemblance, and recently defended by Berys Gaut. Gaut does not provide good reasons to think that art is not definable, and his approach to possible counterexamples to the cluster account would, applied consistently, preclude this. The cluster account's theory of error, its resources for accounting for borderline cases, and its heuristic usefulness are not impressive. Reasons strong enough to warrant accepting the cluster account, it is concluded, have not been given.
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