CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2016
PodiumPresentation
OnArtDefinitionandProvokedPessimism
CurtisJHowd
FacultyMentor:AbrahamGraber
Philosophy
InhispieceTheRoleofTheoryinAesthetics,Weitzfamouslyarguesthatanessentialdefinitionforartis
notforthcoming.Weitzlaysoutatwo-prongedattack,whereheappealstoaWittgensteinianconcept
skepticism,andnotesthemanycounterexamplesgiventopastproposeddefinitions.Inarecentwork
called Weitz’s Legacy, Boardman argues that the pessimism in finding an essential definition for art is
unwarranted. I will analyze Boardman’s claims, provide my own novel criticism of Weitz’s arguments,
andfinallyshowwhyBoardman’shistoricalaccountofpessimismisperhapsinaccurate.