Aesthetics and its Future. Problems and Perspectives

This presentation argues that the question about “future” presupposesan analysis of the current state of the discipline, which again in turnmust be seen in the light of its history. The presentation then unfolds a roughreconstruction of that history from Baumgarten and Kant, over Romanticism’sestablishing of the partnership with Art and Truth in the continental traditionand up to 20th century’s settling with especially that tradition, led by endeavoursboth within art itself, in the art sciences, and in different branches ofphilosophical aesthetics. On the basis of this, it finally discusses the future ofaesthetics: its status as a scholarly discipline, the need for it in our world, andproposes some issues to be at aesthetics’ future agenda of research.