BEARDSLEY'S REVISED AESTHETIC THEORY AS A MODEL FOR VISUAL AESTHETIC EDUCATIONAL THEORY

Monroe C. Beardsley's objective aesthetic criticism represents an enduring stand against the conventionalism of structuralist and post-structural aesthetics, and an affirmation of his belief in the objectivist ideals of modernism. In his persistence Beardsley has been strongly criticized, on the one hand for his failure to provide objective grounds for the conditions of aesthetic judgment while, on the other hand, for his belief in the very possibility of aesthetic judgments possessing objective conditions.;This study shares the view held by Ralph Smith, that Beardsley's revised aesthetic theory, through its objective conception of aesthetic judgment, possesses epistemological assumptions which are structurally appropriate to their use as a model for aesthetic educational content. The study begins with an explication of Beardsley's original theory into which are inserted both his own most recent revisions, as well as extensions from selected external theories. These revisions and extensions serve to counter objections made to elements of Beardsley's original theory. This study maintains that revision and extension of Beardsley's ontology of the art object is crucial to a satisfactory application of his theory. This claim is based on the grounds that his phenomenalist ontology results in the untenable requirement of an immediate object of study. In other words, knowledge of the aesthetic character of objects is presupposed as self evident, rendering the aesthetic object an assumption of aesthetic exploration, and thus ineligible for tutorial conditions. To resolve this paradox Beardsley's original phenomenalistic ontology is revised in favour of his recent innovation of the concept of aesthetic cognition.;The revised propositions of Beardsley's original theory are played off against a general evaluation of theory which includes their defense and discussion with regard to the literature of contemporary aesthetics. The study concludes with a claim of educational appropriateness for the propositions of the model. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).;Beardsley conceives of aesthetics as a special kind of value which manifests its identity as the formal basis for aesthetic criticism in the arts. The nature of aesthetic value is traced from its formative conditions to its eventual affirmation in critical argument and is represented in Beardsley's theory by three main groups of propositions.