Searching for unity in variety: The role of aesthetics and philosophy of science

Frederick Ojore Mordi

Abstract


 

Abstract

This article attempts to deconstruct the concept of aesthetics using the postulates of various scholars that have contributed to expanding the frontiers of knowledge in this field, as a guide. Adopting literature review as methodology, it subjects some of these postulates such as Immanuel Kant’s aesthetic judgements, David Hume’s standard of taste, and Denis Dutton’s aesthetic universals, to rigorous philosophical interrogation, with a view to establishing their validity in terms of how well they explain human behaviour. It also attempts to explain the construct, philosophy of science, and highlights the thoughts of leading intellectuals in this domain of knowledge. It dwells extensively on Thomas Kuhn’s scholarly work: ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,’ which provides the main philosophical framework used in developing this aspect of the paper. It highlights Kuhn’s paradigmatic evolution of science from normal science to revolutionary science and cites some relevant examples that support the Kuhnian historical trajectory of science. The article further assays to establish a correlation between aesthetics and human feelings on the one hand; and between philosophy of science and human behaviour on the other hand. Finally, it attempts to find a conjunction between aesthetics, philosophy of science and the human person. This is the key thrust of the paper. The paper submits that there is a close relationship between aesthetics and philosophy of science, which are in the same search for unity in a variety of human experiences.


Keywords


Aesthetics; philosophy of science; human feelings; aesthetic judgements; aesthetic universals; taste; aesthetic relativism; aesthetic universalism

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References


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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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