Aesthetic Rationality: Coherence and Respect

According to a popular view of rationality, being rational is a matter of exhibiting mental coherence.

This notion of coherence is associated with a set of distinctive principles or rational requirements aimed at avoiding certain combinations of attitudes (e.g., inconsistent beliefs, means-end incoherence, and various forms of akrasia). However, whether we ought or have any reason to try to be coherent remains an open question.

While some philosophers claim that aesthetics falls within the scope of rationality, the existence of aesthetic rational requirements and their normative weight remains notably unexplored.

This project aims to address this gap by exploring the apparent normative relationship between two central aesthetic attitudes: ´aesthetic judgement´ and ´aesthetic liking´. Within this context, the concept of aesthetic respect will be closely examined.

The project explores how agents, by not liking what they judge as aesthetically valuable, may be violating a duty of respect for aesthetic value.

Not only will this project enhance our understanding of how our mental states correlate in a structural way, but it will also contribute to resolving long-standing debates about appropriate engagement with aesthetic value, and evaluating the negative social implications of being aesthetically incoherent.