Possibility of the Aesthetic Experience

by Michael H. Mitias (Editor)

The majority of aestheticians have focused their attention during the past three decades on the identity, or essential nature, of art: can 'art' be defined? What makes an object a work of art? Under what conditions can we characterize in a classificatory sense an object as an art work? The debate, and at times controversy, over these questions proved to be constructive, intellectually stimulating, and in many cases suggestive of new ideas. I hope this debate continues in its momentum and creative outcome. The time is, however, ripe to direct our attention to another important, yet neglected, concept - viz., 'aesthetic experience' - which occupies a prominent place in the philosohpy of art. We do not only create art; we also enjoy, i. e., experience, and evaluate it. How can we theorize about the nature of art in general and the art work in particular, and about what makes an object a good work of art, if we do not experience it? For example, how can we identify an object as an art work and distinguish it from other types of objects unless we first perceive it, that is in a critical, educated manner? Again, how can we judge a work as good, elegant, melodramatic, or beautiful unless we first perceive it and recognize its artistic aspect? It seems to me that experiencing art works is a necessary condition for any reasonable theory on the nature of art and artistic criticism.

182 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1986

About the author

Michael H. Mitias was born in Antioch, Turkey, in 1939 and lived in Latakia, Syria, until 1959. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S and Canada and graduated with a Ph.D. degree in philosophy from the University of Waterloo. He assumed a full-time position as a professor of philosophy at Millsaps College in 1967 in Jackson, Mississippi, and remained there until his retirement in 1999. He taught philosophy for several years at Kuwait University. He devoted his life to teaching and doing research in philosophy. In addition to numerous papers he delivered at national and international conferences, he published many articles in philosophical journals in the U.S. and abroad. He has extensive experience in the humanities and interdisciplinary studies. Michael H. Mitias was married in 1966 and has been divorced for several years. He has three sons and eight grandchildren.
In addition to many books he edited in the areas of Ethics, Aesthetics, and Political Philosophy, he authored the following books: My Father the Immigrant (a novel); Seeking God: A Mystic's Way; Friendship: A Central Moral Value; Love Letters: Abyss of Loneliness, What Makes an Experience Aesthetic?, and Moral Foundation of the State.
His novel, My Father the Immigrant, is based on his experience as an immigrant--a young man who came to the U.S. in quest of a serious understanding of the ideals of justice, love, and freedom: of their nature and how they can be applied in the contemporary world. The path he took from the moment he discovered himself as in individual in the peak of his adolescence to the moment he will retire, when he leaves this world, has been thorny, yet the thorns that bled his soul most of the time were drops of honey, and the wounds they left behind were sparks of revelation into the meaning of human life and
destiny. He has just finished work on a book of poetry from a mystic's point of view.