ABSTRACT
Together, the remaining three chapters constitute conclusions about the meaning and value of art for individuals and society. These deepening insights are framed in terms of the three virtues: the true, the beautiful, and the good. Chapter 8’s focus on truth elaborates on themes already introduced, notably relating to axiological and metaxological experience. A range of “spiritual” questions are aired, and commenting on Bhaskar’s so-called “spiritual turn”, I explain how Aesthetic Critical Realism differs from, but also draws on, metaReality. Martin Heidegger’s “disclosedness of being”, and Theodor Adorno’s “jargon of authenticity” are reconsidered in terms of “real authenticity” and “metaxological openness”. It is argued that truth in art is of a particular nature, being dis–closed, i.e., kept open, defying objectification. We might also think of art as authentic aesthetic experience.
