Everyday Aesthetic Value (EveryAesthetic)

Description

Understanding the nature of aesthetic value is important because it forms a big part of what makes our lives worth living. In the last 10-15 years, there has been an upsurge of interest in theories of aesthetic value. However, most of this work has focussed on understanding the value of artworks and artefacts, and this has created a blind spot in understanding the nature of aesthetic value: the realm of everyday aesthetic phenomena. 'Everyday Aesthetic Value' (EveryAesthetic) addresses this lacuna by developing an innovative approach to aesthetic value that takes seriously the extent of its diversity and fullness in our lives. First, it aims to identify and elucidate the challenges that everyday aesthetic phenomena pose to prominent existing theories of aesthetic value. Second, it aims to develop answers to two key questions regarding the nature of everyday aesthetic phenomena; namely, how to demarcate these phenomena as aesthetic and how to explain what makes them valuable. By meeting these objectives, EveryAesthetic makes a timely intervention in current debates about aesthetic value, and it offers a foundational contribution to literature on everyday aesthetics, bridging the gap between these two fields of research.