On the Ethics of Imagination and Ethical-Aesthetic Value Interaction in Fiction

Bibliographic Data

ID22109366
AuthorsAdriana Clavel-Vázquez (0000-0002-0517-032X, Tilburg University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume9
Issue0
Publication date2023-07-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueErgo an Open Access Journal of Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2330-4014 • E-ISSN: 2330-4014
PublisherUniversity of Michigan Library (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3998/ergo.3119
OpenAlexW4384499683
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited39

Advocates of interactionism in the ethical criticism of art argue that ethical value impacts aesthetic value. The debate is concerned with “the intrinsic question”: the question of whether ethical flaws/merits in artworks’ manifested attitudes affect their aesthetic value (Gaut 2007: 9). This paper argues that the assumption that artworks have intrinsic ethical value is problematic at least in regards to a significant subset of works: fictional artworks. I argue that, insofar as their ethical value emerges only from attitudes attributable to actual agents, fictional artworks only have extrinsic ethical value. I show that what is at stake for interactionism is whether ethical judgements concerning artists’ attitudes in a context, rather than manifested attitudes, are ever aesthetically relevant. I conclude that, without buying into extreme actual intentionalism, a still controversial theory of interpretation that ties artworks’ meaning to actual artists, interactionism fails to show that ethical flaws/merits are aesthetic flaws/merits

Aesthetics · Art · Criticism · Epistemology · Ethical theory · Interactionism · Literature · Social science · Sociology · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Ethics, Aesthetics, and Art · History · Philosophy · Visual Culture and Art Theory

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