Book Title: Three Essays On Aesthetics
Author(s): Archie J Bahm
Publisher: Archie J Bahm

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Page 23
________________ 450 ARCHIE J. BAHM peace. If there are other distinguishable value as connoting staticity. For Organikinds of intrinsic value, which are not cism, the end-in-itself quality of intrinsicbest understood as variations of these, I value experiences is aspectival. Regardless have not yet discovered them.? of whether a value experience is enjoyed Although the foregoing analysis may for an instant or enduringly for an hour, seem clear, especially to those familiar a day, a year, or, as reputedly with saints, with the history of axiological controver- for much of a lifetime, the end-in-itself sies, actual experiences of enjoyment and quality is experienced as requiring nothing suffering involve complex dynamic gestalts beyond itself in order to be enjoyed as which can be comprehended, if at all, only intrinsic value. Staticity, in the sense of through further analyses of multidimen- eternality or metaphysical non-temporal. sional polarities. These include 1. an aspect ity, is not essential to the nature of inversus-class logic, 2. static-versus-dynamic trinsic value, as conceived in Organicism. existence, 3. immeasurable-versus-degree Experience is, by its very nature, dynamic, variations, 4. subjective-versus objective ap. i.e., an organic mixture of events and pearance, 5. apparent versus-real location, duration, and enjoyment of intrinsic and 6. isolated versus-contextual or gestalt- value may or may not be experienced as integrated occurrence. enduring for more than a few seconds. 1. The four kinds of value will be un- Organicism reduces experiences of intrinderstood better if regarded as distinguish- sic value neither to momentary events, able aspects of enjoyed experiences rather such as an isolated pleasant sensation, nor than as separable kinds of entities isolat- to enduring enjoyment, such as contemable in discrete classes. Intellect abstracts plating an unchanging work of art undisclear-cut classes of entities which exist, tracted for an hour. Value experiences are actually, only as varying aspects embedded more or less enduring, and variability in concretely in the dynamic flux of experi. such duration is to be expected normally. ence. Awareness of the four together or, 3. Value experiences vary also in many rather, enjoying awareness without analy- other ways. Although, in a sense, each sis of the four, either all at once or in value experience is immeasurable when rapid succession, normally provides a taken merely in itself, in another sense, richer value experience than awareness of when a value is experienced as increasing only one, or even of only two or three of or decreasing in any way, and when we them. For want of better names, I call stop to compare values as greater or less such experience organic enjoyment and in any manner, value experiences are inexperience of pain, apathy, frustration, terpretable as measurable, in principle. and anxiety (all or some) together as Although no enjoyment-meter has been, organic suffering. The meaning of the term perhaps ever will be, discovered, it is organic should be interpreted as stipulated an obvious characteristic of common sense here, and in other Organicistic writings, that value experiences do differ in degree. rather than in its biological connotations Despite our inability to measure such demerely. The Organicist use of this term grees, in any exact way, we do, and should, has sociological, aesthetic and metaphysi- speak of feeling more or less pleased, more cal, and ancient and modern, as well as or less enthusiastic, more or less satisfied, biological, antecedents. For Organicism, and more or less contented. Without acorganic enjoyment, which includes feelingscepting all details of Jeremy Bentham's of pleasure, enthusiasm, satisfaction, and "calculus of pleasures,” Organicism recogcontentment as variable aspects, is ideal. nizes that number, intensity, duration, ized as the type of intrinsic value to be and frequency may be factors in any value kept in mind, rather than either alone, experience, i.e., not merely in feelings of when the aesthetic is referred to as in- pleasure, but also of enthusiasm, satistuition of intrinsic value. faction, contentment, and, furthermore, in 2. Some theorists interpret intrinsic the richness involved in experiencing them in any value ..e., not merely pleasure.

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