Difference-theoretical Analysis of Aesthetic Media and Forms

Abstract

The general medium/form-difference-theory as proposed by Fritz Heider (cf. Heider, 1959) has been seized on by the sociological systems theory as an epistemological and heuristic basis of such a generality that it can be applied to virtually all conceivable fields of research. One could arguably speak of a new paradigm that overcomes traditional differences such as subject/object and cause/effect. This approach has been applied to all types of art 1 , and various research questions in the fields of aesthetics and art theory. This paper proposes a differentiation and categorisation of aesthetic media and forms in order to lay the groundwork for art criticism on a third way between subjective appreciation and objective reasoning. Musical examples demonstrate the applicability of the medium/form-difference-theoretical approach for the aesthetics of music and music criticism.

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