ABSTRACT
Theorizing about art may claim to pursue the logical progress toward greater certitude and truth that we hope to achieve in all cognitive activity. In actual fact, however, it more likely reflects the need to assess developments in the artistic life of a culture, and to adjust our theoretical understanding to changed uses and experiences of art. This is no defect, for one can discern a basic socio-historical component in all inquiry, including scientific. In aesthetics, especially, an unsureness of purpose and an uneasiness about the identity of the discipline combine to make theorizing all the more difficult, and not only difficult but often directed in ways foreign to the purposes and workings of the arts.
