Coherentism as a model for aesthetic evaluation

When evaluating artworks, people commonly assert that certain artworks are good or bad, powerful or impassive, original or trite. We frequently ascribe properties and qualities to artworks such as graceful, balanced, serene, dynamic, vivid, and tragic as though those properties truly exist within the artwork and can be easily identified by any rational and observant individual. We often deliberate about the value of artworks as though there really was a correct answer.

Nevertheless, it is widely believed that aesthetic judgments cannot be justified. Because past theories that purported to establish aesthetic evaluation as an objective discipline have generally been unsuccessful, people have assumed that such judgments are merely expressions of our individual tastes or attitudes. Aesthetic evaluations are thought to be similar to moral judgments in this respect. Many argue that moral claims cannot be proven to be objectively true or false. They are simply expressions of our personal attitudes, interests or prejudices.