The Aesthetics of Design

280 Pages·2013·1.58 MB·English

by  Jane Forsey

THE AESTHETICS OF DESIGN
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THE AESTHETICS OF DESIGN
Jane Forsey
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Forsey, Jane.
The aesthetics of design / Jane Forsey.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–19–996436–9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Aesthetics.
2. Design—Philosophy. I. Title.
BH39.F659 2013
111′.85—dc23
2012026324
ISBN-13: 978–0–19–996436–9
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
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For Bill,
who has a very nice, if slightly inferior, coff ee-pot.

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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
I. Th e Ontology of Design 9
1. Some Methodological Considerations 9
2. Intuitions about Design 15
3. Design and Art, Design and Craft 23
i . Formalism and Art as an Object 23
ii. Expression and Art as an Activity 44
4. Th e Defi nition of Design 67
II. Locating the Aesthetic: Beauty and
Judgements of Taste 72
1. Th e Problem of Normativity 77
i . Aesthetic Realism 80
ii. Aesthetic Subjectivism 84
2. Aesthetic Judgement 90
3. Th e Kantian Account 103
i . Th e Faculty of Judgement 105
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CONTENTS
ii. Th e Subjective Aspect of Beauty 109
iii. Th e Objective Aspect of Beauty 119
4. Normative Beauty 131
III. Design and Dependent Beauty 137
1. Free Beauty 141
2. Dependent Beauty 144
i. Beautiful Th ings 144
ii. Pure and Impure Judgements of Taste 149
3. Th e Appreciation of Function 161
4. Fine Art and Craft 172
5. Th e Beauty of Design 181
IV. Everyday Aesthetics and Design 193
1. Th e Critique of Aesthetics 194
2. Th e Expansion of Aesthetics 200
i. Saito: Activity, Pleasure, Indeterminacy 203
ii. Haapala: Th e Strange, the Familiar,
and the Sense of Place 223
3. Design and the Everyday 236
Conclusion: Th e Signifi cance of Design 244
Bibliography 253
Index 265
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Bonnie Penfold, for her enthusiastic sup-
port for, and contributions to, the early stages of the project; and
Beth Savickey, for the right advice, at the right time, in the right
way. I am particularly grateful to Lars Aagard-Mogensen and Else
Mogensen for their generosity, kindness, and friendship, and for
providing me with a tranquil place to think about philosophy.
Th is project has been assisted by funding from the University
of Winnipeg’s Research Offi ce.

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