Why Is Aesthetic Criticism Necessary——With a Reference to the View of Art in Analytic Aesthetics

With the decline of Kantian aesthetics in the 20th century,a work of art was no longer taken as an aesthetic object.Many artists,art historians and aestheticians tried to sever the connection between art and the aesthetic.They were no longer interested in the aesthetic value of works of art,or in formulating critical criteria for aesthetic judgment of works of art.Anglo-American analytic aesthetics,among others,fostered the development of this anti-aesthetic trend.Unduly catering to the avant-garde as well as the political,cultural or commercial manipulation of art,many analytic aestheticians gave up the critical spirit that an aesthetician is supposed to have,and thus avoided making aesthetic criticism of works of art.However,they could not successfully sever the internal connection between art and the aesthetic.Aesthetic criticism does not cease to be significant for human existence.