In a message dated 2/28/10 8:18:16 PM, [email protected] writes:
> Regarding C.J. Ducasse's in his book "The Philosophy of Art" assertion > that > the experience occasioned by witnessing a drama is not aesthetic at all. > The > problem with this statement is that there is no > clarification if drama is from regular life event or presented in the work > of > art. > I knew Ducasse and I esteemed him as a teacher, a thinker, and a man -- but I agree that his sensibility failed him when he implied that all one gets from HAMLET is a vicarious experience. What beguiles me is that the experiences from HAMLET, SUNFLOWERS, and LA MER are vastly different, and yet we are content to call all three a.e.'s. Why? It's true that though the "experiences" with chocolate, steak, and cognac are also vastly different, we have no hesitation in calling them all palatal (and olfactory) -- because we can point right at the specialized nerve-endings involved. It's hard to do that with a.e.'s. The eyes and ears conduct all sorts of sensations that occasion no a.e.
