Defining Art
Questions of Creativity and Originality
The historical conditions considered in Chapter 9 are the very heart of questions as to what is distinctive about artistic creativity and originality, and thence the definition of art itself. To answer these questions, this chapter picks up some themes broached in earlier chapters, notably that of aesthetic empathy. Section I briefly reiterates art's relation to the aesthetic domain, and then proposes an account of creativity and originality in relation to artifice in general. It goes on to explain art's distinctive mode of creativity and originality qua aesthetic object. Section II formally defines the ecological theory of art, and considers its scope and the related question of artistic quality. Section III uses this theory to refute Institutional-type definitions of art. Finally, Section IV refutes recent scepticism concerning artistic creativity and originality, and concludes with an affirmation of the positive significance of judgements concerning artistic originality.
Keywords: art, self-consciousness, aesthetics, artifice, creativity, originality, aesthetic domain
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