Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

In a series of experiments, we investigate the epistemic
worth of aesthetic testimony. There are two forms of pessimism about
aesthetic testimony that exist in the philosophical literature. The
absolute pessimists say that aesthetic testimony are epistemically
worthless: we simply cannot acquire knowledge in the aesthetic domain
via testimony. The relative pessimists say that aesthetic testimony
are epistemically worth less than mundane testimony about descriptive
matters. We examine folk theory and practice of aesthetic and other
testimony to assess absolute and relative pessimism about aesthetic
testimony.