Art, Opinions, and Attitudes

Abstract

B.R. Tilghman (1991) suggests that we can make use of the notion of an attitude in
connection to art without referring to aesthetic attitude theories and their
psychologistic understanding of "attitude". We should instead turn to Wittgenstein,
who uses this notion when discussing our relation to other people. This attitude is
no psychological stance or special mode of perception, but rather something that
characterizes the grammar of the concept of a person. Tilghman argues that it can
also be important in aesthetics. If this is right, it will point to important
parallels between understanding people and understanding art, and thus between ethics
and aesthetics.