Abstract

Aesthetics cannot complain of any lack of discussions. These are now conducted in peaceful, collegial tones, helping to clarify any vexed problem. Such, in particular, are the polemics about the nature of the beautiful that have been going on in our press for more than a quarter of a century, alternately swelling and subsiding. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the vicissitudes of these polemics. The focal point is not the participants, but the points of view and principles that have been formulated for approaching the problem of the beautiful, the results that have been achieved, and the questions that still remain to be dealt with