Three Essays On Aesthetics

Here is a comprehensive summary of Archie J. Bahm's "Three Essays on Aesthetics," focusing on the core arguments presented in the provided text:

Central Thesis: Aesthetic vs. Moral Experience

Bahm's central argument is that "aesthetic" experience is characterized by a feeling of completeness in itself, while "moral" experience is characterized by a feeling of incompleteness and a need for something more. These are presented as fundamental, though often overlapping, aspects of all experience.

Defining Aesthetic and Moral Experience:

• Aesthetic Experience: An experience enjoyed as complete in itself, an intrinsic value. It is not necessarily the satisfaction of desire, as satisfaction can still imply the preceding desire.
• Moral Experience: An experience felt as incomplete, needing something more to complete it. It is an instrumental value, seen as a means to something further. This definition of "moral" is intentionally broad.

The Range of Aesthetic Experience:

Bahm emphasizes that aesthetic experience is not limited to any particular type of object or sensation. It can encompass:

• Sensations: Visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, etc.
• Forms and Patterns: Lines, shapes, arrangements, both sensed and imagined.
• Ideas and Ideals: As advocated by philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
• Feelings and Emotions: As highlighted by Romantic thinkers.
• Nirvanic Peace: Whether experienced as fullness, void, or indifference, as claimed by Hindu thinkers.

The key criterion for an experience being aesthetic is not its simplicity, complexity, sensuousness, or intellectual nature, but rather that it is experienced as complete in itself.

The Range of Moral Experience:

Moral experience, defined by incompleteness, can manifest in various forms:

• Volition: Desire, purpose, inspiration, enthusiasm that are not yet fulfilled.
• Expectation: Anticipation of future experiences, whether certain or uncertain.
• Implication: Inference from the given to the not-given.
• Obligation: A feeling that something ought to be done, a forward-looking aspect.

Experiences like doubt, fear, anxiety, ambition, curiosity, choice, and complex pursuits like science, philosophy, and relationships are all cited as examples of moral experiences.

The Interdependence of Aesthetic and Moral:

A significant part of Bahm's argument is that most, if not all, experiences are both moral and aesthetic to some degree.

• Moral Experiences are Implicitly Aesthetic:

  1. The Goal is Aesthetic: The aim of a moral experience (the incomplete) is a foreseen aesthetic experience (the complete). The aesthetic is the goal of the moral.
  2. Acceptance of the Present: Even in incomplete (moral) experiences, there's an implicit acceptance of the present state as having some value. This acceptance, even in pain or difficulty, contributes an aesthetic aspect of experiencing something as an end-in-itself.

• Aesthetic Experiences are Implicitly Moral:

  1. The Goal Requires Means: The aesthetic goal (the good-in-itself) implies the need for means to achieve and sustain it. The aesthetic continues to depend on the moral.
  2. Stimulation of Further Desire: Aesthetic satisfaction that leads to further desire for more of the same is moral. An aesthetic experience that prompts future aesthetic experiences is considered "better" because it implies a continuation of value.

Paradox and the Dialectic of Aesthetic and Moral:

Bahm highlights the paradoxical relationship:

• In Isolation, Both are Self-Destructive: Morality without an aesthetic goal is aimless; aesthetics without a moral drive is static or "dead."
• Together, They are Dialectically Involved: The moral aims at the aesthetic, requiring what it is not. The aesthetic, as completeness, would end the moral if it weren't for the fact that the aesthetic must continue and be "alive" by being involved in something incomplete. Life itself, in its dynamism, is inherently both moral and aesthetic.

The "Double Thesis":

Bahm proposes a double thesis:

1. Aesthetic-Moral is More Aesthetic: That which is both aesthetic and moral can be more completely aesthetic than that which is merely aesthetic.
2. Moral-Aesthetic is More Moral: That which is both aesthetic and moral can be more completely moral than that which is merely moral.

This is because accepting life as lived, including its moral aspects, as complete in itself fosters an aesthetic attitude. Conversely, striving for ideals (a moral act) can enhance the aesthetic experience of life.

Implications for Art and Society:

• Art is Both Aesthetic and Moral: Art involves artists, objects, and appreciators, and each aspect is infused with both aesthetic and moral dimensions. Artistic creativity is experienced as both. The art object serves as an instrument for further aesthetic enjoyment. Appreciation often involves moral considerations (comparison, inquiry, ownership). Great art is highly aesthetic and highly moral.
• Society's Goal is Aesthetic: Social experience is moral, but its ultimate goal is seen as aesthetic, relating to confidence, assurance, and peace. Social security and firm convictions contribute to an aesthetic life. Eastern philosophies, particularly Taoism and Buddhism, are seen as coming closer to this goal by emphasizing acceptance of the present.

Key Concepts and Comparisons:

• Organicism: Bahm's broader philosophical framework suggests that intrinsic values (pleasure, enthusiasm, satisfaction, contentment) intermingle and supplement each other. He emphasizes dynamic gestalts over isolated entities.
• Western vs. Oriental Philosophies: Bahm contrasts Western civilization's focus on "will" and "reason" with Hindu civilization's emphasis on "will-lessness" and "intuition of indistinctness," and Chinese civilization's focus on "naturalness" and "willingness."
• Intrinsic Value: The core concept, representing something enjoyed as an end-in-itself or complete in itself.
• Beauty: Defined as the objectification of aesthetic experience (intuition of intrinsic value).

Conclusion:

Bahm concludes that aesthetic experience fundamentally consists in the intuition of intrinsic value. All experiences are seen as having both aesthetic (complete) and moral (incomplete) aspects, and recognizing their interdependence leads to a richer and more complete appreciation of both. The pursuit of intrinsic value is the ultimate aesthetic goal, and the quest for it is inherently moral.