The End of Aesthetics
摘要
This essay is a response to the so-called end of aesthetics which was perhaps prompted by Jean-François Lyotard’s idea of the “postmodern condition.” The essay will refer to early Western ideas of aesthetics such as the sublime by differentiating artistic representations and expression as well as the role of the psyche and nature as key elements in both Western and Eastern aesthetics. The place of infinity in such aesthetics will be examined. These values will be illustrated by a discussion of modern and contemporary Western poetry, painting, film, dance, and music. The essay concludes with the assertion that there is no end of aesthetics because of continued activation of the psyche in openings to the universe that uncover infinity ontologically. Aesthetic theory is provoked anew by various kinds of openings to what is before one’s eyes and what percolates up through the psyche, including infinity and the sublime.