Aesthetic Adjectives and
Context
Aaron Meskin
(Philosophy, Leeds)
Experimental Aesthetics Workshop
My hypothesis
Aesthetic terms are like ordinary relative
gradable adjectives in that they exhibit
context sensitivity.
Aesthetic gradability
Aesthetic (and artistic and expressive) adjectives are
gradable.
Allow for degree modifiers.
The flower is very beautiful.
The novel is extremely original.
The song is very sad.
Allow for comparative constructions.
That painting is more elegant than this painting.
He is less creative than my aunt.
Durham Cathedral is more serene than York Minster.
Context-sensitivity in gradable
adjectives
(1) John is tall.
“What proposition is expressed by a sentence like [1] is context
dependent, depending on what standard of tallness is given by
the context. It might express a true proposition if the standard is
set to a value appropriate for talking about jockeys, but a false
one if set to a value appropriate for talking about the tallness of
basketball players” (Glanzbeg, ‘Context, Content, and
Relativism’, 9; see also Stanley “On the Linguistic Basis for
Contextualism, 123)
But not all gradable adjectives are
context-sensitive
“Some expressions are gradable, yet not contextsensitive” (Stanley, “The Linguistic Basis for
Contextualism”, 132).
Examples: “taller than six feet”, “regret”, “justified”
In fact, some linguists argue that one distinctive and
large class of gradable adjectives do not exhibit contextsensitive. Do aesthetic terms belong to that class?
What kind of gradable adjectives
are aesthetic adjectives?
Kennedy: “There is a well-defined set of adjectives that
are demonstrably gradable but do not have context
dependent interpretations...” (“Vagueness and
Grammar”, 22).
minimum standard absolute gradable adjectives:
impure, damp, wet, open, bent...
application requires some minimal degree of property
maximum standard absolute gradable adjectives:
pure, dry, closed, straight...
application requires a maximal degree of property
Aesthetic terms are not absolute
gradable
NO ENTAILMENT TO AN ANTONYM
It is not closed.=>It is open.
It is not wet. => It is dry.
It is not beautiful. ≠> It is ugly.
It is not ugly. ≠> It is beautiful.
Aesthetic terms are not absolute
gradable
NOT MAXIMUM STANDARD
??It is CLOSED but it could be more closed.
It is BEAUTIFUL but it could be more beautiful.
He is CREATIVE but he could be more creative.
My door is more closed than Robbie’s door. => Robbie’s
door is not closed.
John is more beautiful than Jim. ≠> Jim is not beautiful.
Jane is more creative than Bob. ≠> Bob is not creative.
Aesthetic terms are not absolute
gradable
NOT MINIMUM STANDARD
??It is not damp but it has some moisture in it.
She is not beautiful, but she displays a bit of beauty.
He is not creative but he possesses a bit of creativity.
The table is more damp than the towel. => The table is
damp.
John is more beautiful than Jim. ≠> John is beautiful.
(“John is not beautiful but he is more beautiful than Jim.”)
Mary is more creative than Maisie. ≠> Mary is creative.
The Presupposition Assessment
Task (Syrett et al 2005)
Pairs of objects (e.g., 2 cubes, 2 rods, 2
disks) were presented. Experimenter
made request using definite description:
“Please give me the X one” (X= target
adjective) Pairs designed so that neither,
both or one of the objects could be
modified by the adjective.
Prediction
In relative gradable adjective case,
participant can always shift context to
satisfy presupposition of unique existence.
So subjects should always conform to
request and give the object that possesses
property to the greater degree. In absolute
gradable adjective case, subjects won’t be
able to shift context. So in cases where
presupposition is not met, subjects will
reject request.
Relative gradable
“Please give me the big one.”
“Please give me the long one.”
Result: Compliance at or near ceiling.
Absolute gradable
“Please give me the spotted one.”
“Please give me the full one.”
Result: Much more rejection of requests.
Aesthetic adjectives and the presupposition
assessment test
“Please give me the
beautiful one.”