ABSTRACT

A long debate in aesthetics concerns the reasoned nature of criticism. The main questions in the debate ask whether criticism is based on (normative) reasons, whether critics communicate reasons for their audience’s responses, and, if so, how to understand these critical reasons. I argue that a great obstacle to making any progress in this debate is the deeply engrained assumption, shared by all sides of the debate, that reasons can only be either theoretical reasons (those that explain what to believe or what propositions are true) or practical reasons (those that explain what is to be done or what actions are good/required/called-for/otherwise-worth-doing). My aims are (1) to put pressure on this assumption that, if there are critical reasons, they must be either theoretical or practical (the EITHER/OR assumption), and (2) to suggest that, if there are critical reasons, the most central among them are neither theoretical nor practical (NEITHER/NOR).

摘要

美学上的长期争论涉及批评的理性本质。辩论中的主要问题是批评是否基于（规范的）原因，批评者是否为听众的反应传达了原因，如果是，如何理解这些关键原因。我认为，在这场辩论中取得任何进展的一个巨大障碍是辩论各方都共有的根深蒂固的假设，即理由只能是理论上的理由（那些解释应该相信什么或哪些命题是正确的）或实际的理由原因（那些解释要做什么或什么行动是好的/需要的/要求的/否则值得做的）。我的目标是（1）对这个假设施加压力，即如果有关键原因，它们必须是理论的或实践的（要么/要么假设），以及（2）表明，如果有关键原因，其中最核心的原因既不是理论也不是实际的（NEITHER/NOR）。