Post-modern+Perspective



= Post-Modern Perspectives on Beauty =

French philosopher and social critic Michael Foucault, who lived from 1926 to 1984, argued that when people rely on a system of thinking or a set of principles, they effectively stop thinking. Post-modernism is an approach that attempts to move away from the conventional aesthetic framework.

Jean Lyotard: French post-modernist who pointed out that social forces shape what people become. He and many other post-modernists question the idea of the existence of absolutes, such as truth and beauty; examine social, political, and historical issues; and embrace diversity.

According to contemporary American literary critic and philosopher Fredric Jameson, the passage from modernist aesthetics to post-modernist aesthetics can be seen as the movement away from a “deep” aesthetic of unique personal style to a “flat” aesthetics of pastiche, a style that imitates other styles, as well as the multiplication of styles.

John Dewey believed that beauty cannot be analyzed. He said that the sensory qualities of a work and its perceived meanings are intrinsically linked in an aesthetic experience. This link arouses admiration and a sense of beauty. He also argued that artists select and organize the features that will create this aesthetic experience in viewers. For Dewey, art and beauty are experiences that result from reflective thought.

Dewey’s words say that human experience is a process in nature. He believed that art comes from people’s ability to transform ordinary experiences into fulfilling events, and said that people find beauty in nature because they are constantly involved with the world. Through nature people connect with the underlying rhythms of life and the world as a whole.

Arnold Berleant said that it is through total engagement in nature, not disinterested contemplation, that people are able to find beauty in nature. Supporting Immanuel Kant’s theory of aesthetic experience, Berleant argued that nature stimulates the free play of thought 1269531046