Cluster theory of art
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
"Gaut does not acknowledge other versions of the cluster theory, but there have been several. E. J. Bond (1975) observes that a set of conditions may be sufficient for something's being art though no single member of the set is either necessary or sufficient. Milton H. Snoeyenbos (1978) argues that "art" may be used on the basis of a disjunctive set of merely sufficient conditions. Ellen Dissanayake observes that one method of definition has been to compile a number of attributes of art; ..." --"The Cluster Theory of Art" (2004) by Stephen Davies |
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A cluster theory of art is an anti-essentialist way of defining art by producing lists of necessary conditions of qualities that make a work of art. A combination of these necessary conditions makes a sufficient condition.
“Art” as a Cluster Concept" (2000) by Berys Gaut is a recent essay to popularize the anti-essentialist tendencies in the philosophy of art. Cluster concepts are composed of criteria that contribute to art status but are not individually necessary for art status.
Gaut's theory was criticized by Stephen Davies in "The Cluster Theory of Art" (2004).
Another cluster theory is Denis Dutton's Aesthetic Universals.
In "The Cluster Account of Art: A Historical Dilemma" (2014), Simon Fokt accuses the cluster concept of art of ahistoricism.
See also
- Cluster theory
- Theory of art
- Family resemblance
- Kripke
- "The Cluster Account of Art: A Historical Dilemma" by Simon Fokt