Synonyms
Definition
Aesthetic value is the value that an object, event, or state of affairs (most paradigmatically an artwork or the natural environment) possesses in virtue of its capacity to elicit pleasure (positive value) or displeasure (negative value) when appreciated or experienced aesthetically.
Description
Everything that is valuable is valuable in a variety of ways. Art objects often have sentimental value, historical value, or financial value. Wilderness can have economic value as well as recreational value. But great artworks are thought to possess a distinctive sort of noninstrumental and nonutilitarian value that is of central concern when they are evaluated as artworks. It might be thought that this value is beauty, but many artworks are not beautiful. So it is more plausible that beauty is a particular species of aesthetic value. The aesthetic value that a work of art possesses (and most would extend this to...
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References
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Plato, L., Meskin, A. (2014). Aesthetic Value. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3349
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