Abstract

Je sais que la poesie est indepensable, mais je ne sais pas a quoi. [I know poetry is indispensable, but I don’t know what for.]A crucial characteristic of any aesthetic education is to understand the nature of aesthetic quality, that is, how to determine whether one artwork is superior to another. For example, I want to say that J. S. Bach’s Sixth Suite for Unaccompanied Cello performed by YoYo Ma is superior to “Thriller,” composed by Rod Temperton and performed by Michael Jackson. I would also suggest that the oeuvre of Wallace Stevens is superior to that of Robert Service. Finally, anything done by Rembrandt is superior to anything done by Thomas Kinkade. Now, one might agree or disagree with my assessments of...