Aethics. On aesthetic testimony, aesthetic virtue, and the moral duties of aesthetic experts

Abstract

Although gaining knowledge through experts’ testimony is unproblematic in most epistemic domains, the status of aesthetic experts and aesthetic testimony is puzzling. In fact, aesthetic agents who form aesthetic judgements based only on experts’ testimony seem to lack substantial skills. This paper maintains that while aesthetic testimony and aesthetic experts are not problematic per se, aesthetic virtue requires agents to grasp the reasons that make an artwork beautiful. Furthermore, this paper re-conceptualizes the role of aesthetic experts by assigning them certain moral responsibilities. I end the paper by arguing that this reconceptualization has important consequences for how we conceive of the role and duties of museum workers as well as on the debates over the colonial heritage held in museums.