Paths from the Philosophy of Art to Everyday Aesthetics

It is often thought that art teaches us and that we can learn from it. To learn that p is to come to know that p. So, art can teach us only if we can gain knowledge through art. How is this possible? Nelson Goodman tries to explain it by his theory of symbols. However, his theory just explains how works of art can refer to the world, and referring to the world is not enough for having knowledge about the world. Because knowledge is a matter of having true beliefs, in order to give us knowledge, works of art must say something that is true. It is argued that we can explain how they can do this, if we revise and supplement certain aspects of Goodman’s theory of symbols. Furthermore, we can even explain how our built and natural environment can teach us.