{"id":{"repo_id":"waikato-masters","oai_identifier":"oai:researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz:10289/16275"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/waikato-masters/oai:researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz:10289/16275","repository":{"repo_id":"waikato-masters","name":"University Waikato","base_url":"https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A Study of the Adequacy of Post Functional Definitions of Art","abstract":"In this thesis, I investigate the adequacy of post-functional definitions of art, including institutional, historical, disjunctive and buck-passing definitions. I evaluate these definitions with respect to their extensional adequacy, intentional adequacy, and informativeness. Philosophers of art have not always made a clear distinction between definitions of art and theories of art. I argue that this distinction is important. A definition of art must provide the means to distinguish artworks from non-artworks. In contrast, a theory of art need not do this, but it should be informative about such matters as the production or reception of artworks. To clarify what a definition is, I explain the concept of essence and from there, investigate various accounts of essentialism and anti-essentialism about art. I conclude that none of the definitions of art so far proposed are adequate. However, I argue that we do not in fact need a definition of art. Theories of art are potentially of considerably more use than definitions.","abstract_html":"In this thesis, I investigate the adequacy of post-functional definitions of art, including institutional, historical, disjunctive and buck-passing definitions. I evaluate these definitions with respect to their extensional adequacy, intentional adequacy, and informativeness. Philosophers of art have not always made a clear distinction between definitions of art and theories of art. I argue that this distinction is important. A definition of art must provide the means to distinguish artworks from non-artworks. In contrast, a theory of art need not do this, but it should be informative about such matters as the production or reception of artworks. To clarify what a definition is, I explain the concept of essence and from there, investigate various accounts of essentialism and anti-essentialism about art. I conclude that none of the definitions of art so far proposed are adequate. However, I argue that we do not in fact need a definition of art. Theories of art are potentially of considerably more use than definitions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shams, Mehdi"],"institution":"The University of Waikato","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kingsbury, Justine","van Zyl, Liezl"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023","date_published":"2023","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:57:52Z","subjects":["Definition of art","Essence","Art theory","Extensional adequacy","Intensional adequacy","Disjunctive definitions of art"],"languages":[],"rights":["All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated."],"rights_urls":["https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/4de45eab-6108-4ace-9468-aeef83ecb35f/download"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kingsbury, Justine","van Zyl, Liezl"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shams, Mehdi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["The University of Waikato"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10289/16275"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Definition of art","Essence","Art theory","Extensional adequacy","Intensional adequacy","Disjunctive definitions of art"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/4de45eab-6108-4ace-9468-aeef83ecb35f/download","All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/a676f6e8-3649-4fa0-ab8f-c540d4015a7c/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis, I investigate the adequacy of post-functional definitions of art, including institutional, historical, disjunctive and buck-passing definitions. 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A definition of art must provide the means to distinguish artworks from non-artworks. In contrast, a theory of art need not do this, but it should be informative about such matters as the production or reception of artworks. To clarify what a definition is, I explain the concept of essence and from there, investigate various accounts of essentialism and anti-essentialism about art. I conclude that none of the definitions of art so far proposed are adequate. However, I argue that we do not in fact need a definition of art. 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