Art is experience

John Dewey appears - in his theory of art which he embedded in this book - as an astonishing and perplexing philosopher at the same time. His theory of art is so broad and open-minded that it differs from... many other theories. It also intersects with them; he disagrees with the Kantian trend that emphasizes the principle of aesthetic integrity and the separation of art from practical nature, but he agrees with it in saying that beauty does not coincide with usefulness or what serves a purpose. He agrees with formalists in valuing the importance of the image in art, but he disagrees with them in taking the artistic image as the sole element of the value of the work of art; the image must express something, without that implying that the expression is then a report or a direct indication. He focuses on the connections of kinship between scientific experiences, including ordinary experiences and practical experiences; but at the same time, he does not forget to inform us about what characterizes the aesthetic experience, unlike other experiences.