Aesthetic Categories

The categories of aesthetics, however universal, can only be applicable to the aesthetic side of human activity. They are different from logical or ethical categories, from philosophical onthology, epistemology, axiology etc.

One might expect that all the aesthetical categories could be arranged in a hierarchical structure, in accordance with that of onthological cathegories. This structure would reflect the material roots and development of art.

According to the general distinction of the object, the subject and the product of any activity, general aesthetics (that is, philosophy of art as a level of spiritual activity) would comprise three fundamental areas of reflection: objective aesthetics, subjective aesthetics and culturology of the arts. Each of these aspects of aesthetics in general has its own categories, which cannot be reduced to the categories of any other area. Analyzing a particular aesthetic phenomenon, one will consider it from different aspects, and combine the three levels of aesthetics in an appropriate manner, and no applied research is possible strictly within the objective or subjective approach.

Objective aesthetics treats the aesthetic product as an object, trying to indicate the specific qualities that make it a work of art. It describes such levels of the aesthetic ability as mastery, taste or artistry, and considers the mechanisms of producing the aesthetic, including imitation, sublimation and refinement. The fundamental categories of plausibility, beauty and artistic truth also belong to objective aesthetics.

Subjective aesthetics discusses the issues related to the origin and manifestations of aesthetic creativity. This includes the study aesthetic education, the categorization of creative qualities, the comprehension of the nature of aesthetic communication and the role of co-creation in the relations between the artist and the observer of the art.

Culturological aesthetics describes the universal hierarchy of any aesthetic product, from the formal regularities to its cultural content. The artist as a specific product of spiritual development can also be treated in a universal way, which allows to understand the place of tradition and innovation, creative styles and different aesthetic schools in the history of the arts and culture in general. Differential aesthetics as a part of aesthetic culturology studies the history of the arts, its various forms and tendencies of development.