Truth, Aesthetic Goodness, and Ideal Sensibilities: Pragmatic Considerations

Doctoral Program in Philosophy, Epistemology, and Human Sciences

University of Cagliari, Department of Education, Psychology, and Philosophy

Course title: Truth, Aesthetic Goodness, and Ideal Sensibilities: Pragmatic Considerations

Number of hours: 2

Teachers (e-mail and relevant subject area(s)): Filippo Contesi (University of Cagliari), filippo.contesi@unica.it, Philosophy and Theory of languages; Tom Adajian (James Madison University)

Short bio/bibliography: Tom Adajian is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at James Madison University, USA.

Delivery methods: in person and online

Meeting calendar: May 22nd, 2026, 15:00 -17:00

Room and/or Link: Room 18 (Sa Duchessa, Central Building)

Language: English

Required prior knowledge: none

Brief course description: Theories that analyze aesthetic goodness by appeal to an idealized agent (e.g., Hume’s “true judges”) are well-known. Common criticisms of such Ideal views include some that reject the notion of an ideal sensibility altogether, some that claim that a standard of taste so defined is “useless,” and some holding that such views are vulnerable to an aesthetic version of the Euthyphro dilemma. This paper (a) examines those criticisms and (b) defends a distinctive and underexplored pragmatist version of an Ideal approach, which aims at a unified account of truth and aesthetic goodness.

Final rating: No

Other useful informations: Poster of the seminar