Editing Aesthetics (section)

==Aesthetics and the philosophy of art==
[[File:Paintings Exhibition D.A.R. Alexey Khatskevich Y-Gallery 5.09.2013 22.JPG|upright=1.4|thumb|alt=A man admiring a painting|A man enjoying a painting of a landscape. The nature of such experience is studied by aesthetics.]]
Some writers distinguish aesthetics from the philosophy of art, claiming that the former is the study of beauty and taste while the latter is the study of works of art. Slater holds that the "full field" of aesthetics is broad, but in a narrow sense it can be limited to the theory of beauty, excluding the philosophy of art.<ref name=slater /> Aesthetics typically considers questions of beauty as well as of art. It examines topics such as art works, aesthetic experience, and aesthetic judgment.<ref>{{Citation |last=Shelley |first=James |title=The Concept of the Aesthetic |date=2017 |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2017/entries/aesthetic-concept/ |access-date=2018-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102520/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2017/entries/aesthetic-concept/ |archive-date=8 March 2021 |url-status=live |edition=Winter 2017 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}.</ref>

Aesthetic experience refers to the sensory contemplation or appreciation of an object (not necessarily a [[work of art]]), while artistic judgment refers to the recognition, appreciation or criticism of art in general or a specific [[work of art]]. In the words of one philosopher, "Philosophy of art is about art. Aesthetics is about many things—including art. But it is also about our experience of breathtaking landscapes or the pattern of shadows on the wall opposite your office.<ref>Nanay, Bence. (2019) ''Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction''. Oxford University Press. p. 4.</ref>

Philosophers of art weigh a culturally contingent conception of art versus one that is purely theoretical. They study the varieties of art in relation to their physical, social, and cultural environments. Aesthetic philosophers sometimes also refer to psychological studies to help understand how people see, hear, imagine, think, learn, and act in relation to the materials and problems of art. Aesthetic psychology studies the creative process and the aesthetic experience.<ref>Thomas Munro, "aesthetics", The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, ed. A. Richard Harmet, et al., (Chicago: Merchandise Mart Plaza, 1986), p. 81.</ref>