Questions regarding the proper role of the arts in education have occupied many thinkers throughout the ages, no less than the likes of Plato and Rousseau. Like them, several have argued that paintings, for example, are mere re-presentations of and certainly not, to borrow a term from Kant, the "thing-in-itself." From a Platonic and Rousseauian…

When audience members consider aesthetic objects and/or works of art, they typically bring to their consideration a number of perspectives through which the object is considered. These include background beliefs, personal associations, taste preferences, and attitudes and values. Using Alan Goldman's aesthetic value theory as a platform, I…