On the Manifold Meanings of Aesthetic Experience: Lonergan and Chrétien on Art
The Heythrop Journal 2026 DOI: 10.1111/heyj.70024 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Beauty Transcendental number Complement music Aesthetic experience Dimension graph theory Character mathematics Ideal ethics Aesthetics Epistemology Foundation evidence Reinterpretation Reflection computer programming Aesthetic value |
| Key points | Argues that Chrétien's and Lonergan's accounts of beauty and art complement one another, providing a philosophical account of the ontological, ethical, intellectual, and transcendent aspects of aesthetic experience. |
Abstract
Abstract I argue that Jean‐Louis Chrétien’s account of beauty and Bernard Lonergan’s account of art and aesthetic experience complement one another and, when taken together, offer an illuminating philosophical account of the ontological, ethical, intellectual, and transcendent aspects of art and aesthetic experience. Chrétien draws out with particular perspicacity the ontological dimension of aesthetic experience as that of ‘call and response’. His analysis of the evocative character of beauty helps thematise a foundation which is implied but not thematised in Lonergan’s account. The latter’s reflection on art and aesthetic experience is characterised by its distinct emphasis on the ethical, intellectual, and transcendental aspects of aesthetic experience. He introduces a set of distinctions that draw out these aspects with force and clarity.