Aesthetic properties and their (non-)contribution to artistic value

What makes us experience artworks and their aesthetic properties? Can all aesthetic properties be found in all artworks? What aesthetic qualities are required to evaluate artworks? How do we differentiate between aesthetic and artistic values and is there any relationship between the two? This paper aims to answer these questions by examining influential arguments mainly about aesthetic concepts introduced by Frank Sibley and which were later developed by several other contemporary aestheticians including Robert Stecker, Peter Lamarque and Jerrold Levinson. This paper briefly glances at the historical development of aesthetic properties, from Classical to contemporary times. To avoid speculation and vagueness, the paper proceeds to define some of the aesthetic properties as opposed to non-aesthetic ones and applies them to different literary and visual artworks. Such aesthetic qualities are attributed to a particular experience especially when considering literary works. This aesthetic experience, which includes mainly pleasure, plays an important role in the process of judging and evaluating art. It can also lead to several non-aesthetic values such as the cognitive value which is discussed in this paper. All these conceptions are open to perennial discussion. However, one cannot deny that there is a close connection between the aesthetic and the artistic value which do not exclude one another, especially in the process of identifying and evaluating artworks.peer-reviewe

Mikiel Anton Vassalli u l-qaghda lingwistika f'Malta ta' zmienu

Dan l-istudju jistharreg bir-reqqa i-mod ta' kif Mikiel Anton Vassalli zviluppa l-kuncett tal-lingwa u kif fissru bil-kitba fid-dahla tad-dizzjunarju tieghu Ktieb il-Kliem Malti (1796), u fid-dahla tal-ktieb Motti, Aforismi e Proverbii Maltesi (1828). Fil-bidu huma pprezentati xi xejriet lingwistici fl-Ewropa tas-sekiu tmintax fi sfond Illuminista u jissemmew hassieba ewlenin bal Locke, Rousseau, u Hobbes. Tinghata wkoll stampa cara tal-qaghda lingwistika fl-Italja, fl-istess zmien, bis-sehem kbir tal-istudjuzi tal-Accademia della Crusca. Jinhassu xi similaritajiet bejn il-qaghda lingwistika fl-Italja u l-qaghda lingwistika f'Malta. Dan kolIu jitfa' dawl fuq l-origini tal-principji Ii fisser Vassalli u kemm dawn kienu jirriflettu dak li kien qieghed jigri fi zmienu. B 'hekk il-qaghda Maltija tinghata tifsila usa' meta tinghaqad mal-grajjiet lingwistici li kienu qeghdin isehhu fil-kontinent.peer-reviewe

The connection between literature and aesthetics : is it problematic?

Most literary critics are reluctant to accept the relevance of aesthetics to literature. This paper aims to show how aesthetics can be related to literature in terms of values, among other concepts. The aesthetic experience and the aesthetic value of literature have long been discussed resulting in many divergent theories from philosophers in general and aestheticians in particular. This paper revisits Peter Lamarque’s objections to the connection between aesthetics and literature and argues for and against these objections, referring to accounts written by several philosophers, amongst whom Monroe C. Beardsley, Robert Stecker, Noël Carroll, and Kendall Walton. I claim that the connection between aesthetics and literature is possible if a literary genre is transformed into an experience which is mostly subjective, and generates aesthetic values which, on the other hand, are more objective and universal. As Lamarque claims, literary critics seem to emphasize more the instrumental values of literature than its more purely intrinsic values. Moreover, they keep away as much as possible from value judgments of any kind. All this seems to separate literature from aesthetics. There are common factors, however, such as aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic vocabulary, which are used by both aestheticians and literary critics, proving that literature holds a strong place in contemporary aesthetics. Most aestheticians regard literature, especially poetry, as one of the arts. However, the most common issues that philosophers write about are the cognitive and ethical values of literature. Such debates lack the literary and hence the aesthetic aspect of literature. It is not so obvious that when philosophers write about literature, they are really engaged in aesthetics. This paper focuses on whether the concept of aesthetics of literature really connects aesthetics to literature and, more precisely, on which criteria make literary works suitable for aesthetic evaluation? The key to these questions lies in the aesthetic experience of pleasure.peer-reviewe

Profil ta' l-estetika letterarja Maltija

L-awtriċi tistħarreġ l-iżvilupp tal-estetika letterarja Maltija matul iż-żmien.peer-reviewe

Breaking the barriers between aesthetics and theory in literature

Up to few decades ago, aesthetics and theory were considered two separate disciplines in the realm of literature. More recent studies have indicated that the experience and also the study of literature are breaking these existing boundaries by revealing common factors present in both aesthetics and theory. Several literary theorists and aestheticians have emphasized this close relation which is woven within literature itself. John Gibson, Derek Attridge and Peter Lamarque are few of the theorists who argue in favour of such a relation. They contend that the perspectives of both aesthetics, as a branch of philosophy, and theory, do not exclude each other. Furthermore, they suggest that both aesthetics and theory can be complementary to each other and combine the philosophical concern with clarity, and the creativity which pertains to theory. The aim of this paper is to show how the study of literature can break the barriers between aesthetics and theory by combining them together in several ways, suggesting possible ties within the creation and the act of reading literature, with particular reference to fictitious narratives. In this paper I shall discuss firstly how ambiguity and imagination can have the potential to effect both literary aesthetics and literary theory offering different results. Secondly I shall focus on fictitious narratives from both the aesthetical and the theoretical points of view. I intend to emphasize the manner we view and discuss literature in the process of reading it. My literary discussion will include theories proposed by the literary philosophers Attridge, Lamarque and McGregor and how these theories can be combined through particular readings, thus breaking the barriers between aesthetics and theory in literature.peer-reviewe

The Phytochemical Constitution of Maltese Medicinal Plants – Propagation, Isolation and Pharmacological Testing

Fourteen Maltese medicinal plants, that were significantly used in tradition, were studied for their phytochemical constitution and pharmacological activities. These include Drimia maritima (L.) Stearn, Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich., Mentha pulegium L., Salvia officinalis L., Verbena officinalis L., Hedera helix L., Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Calendula officinalis L., Melissa officinalis L., Olea europea L., Urtica dubia Forsk., Capparis spinosa L., Ephedra fragilis Desf. and Nicotiana glauca RC Graham. Cultivation and micropropagation practices, in relation to secondary metabolite production, were also considered for some these plants. This article highlights the main findings for these plants.peer-reviewe

Silta mill-"Antigone" ta’ Sofokle

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Ħajki ta’ Josette Attard – Din l-għanja tiegħi ta’ Rena Balzan – Fl-irdum fejn jidwi ta’ Charles Bezzina – Naqa’ biss ta’ Ġorġ Borg – Gambrinu, 7.45 a.m. ta’ Norbert Bugeja – Għadam ta’ Joseph Buttigieg – Tħarisx biss fil-wiċċ ta’ John Caruana – Petra ta’ Priscilla Cassar – Mhux iżjed dan il-pajjiż tiegħi ta’ Victor Fenech – Twieqi magħluqa ta’ Maria Grech Ganado – Joseph quddiem ir-ritratt ta’ sieħbu jitfarrak ta’ Adrian Grima – Ta’ l-ilma l-fruntieri tiegħek ta’ Simone Inguanez – Għall-kaċċa tal-grejtwajt ta’ Daniel Massa – Ftit weraq mis-Slovenja ta’ Immanuel Mifsud – Dak li kien ta’ Achille Mizzi – Wassalni ta’ Anna Pullicino – Tamiet fiergħa ta’ Patrick Sammut – Fost l-isbaħ jiem ta’ Lillian Sciberras – Kelma ta’ Marcel Zammit Marmarà – Lill-Imdina żagħżugħa ta’ Joe Zammit Tabona – Sodda ta’ l-ilma ta’ Clare Azzopardi – Kurċifiss ta’ Paul P. Borg – Mera mkissra ta’ Lina Brockdorff – No(ra)vella ta’ Joe Friggieri – L-abbati ta’ Henry Holland – L-eħrex ġurnata tal-gwerra ta’ Maurice Mifsud Bonnici – Marija ta’ Lino Spiteri – Ikla ta’ Trevor Żahra – Il-mara midinba ta’ Albert Camus, traduzzjoni ta’ Toni Aquilina – Silta mill-"Antigone" ta’ Sofokle, traduzzjoni ta’ Victor Xuereb.peer-reviewe

Servitude et grandeur militaires

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Notturn op. 9 nru 2 ta’ Beverly Agius – Naf ta’ Carmel Azzopardi – Ħsejjes ħajja ta’ Clifton Azzopardi – Il-ġrajja t’għasfur stramb ta’ Mario Azzopardi – Tektik...u għana ta’ Rena Balzan – Kun af li f’qiegħ għajnejk ta’ Charles Bezzina – Il-qalb imwebbsa ta’ Ġorġ Borg – Bħal ħuta mġewħa ta’ Louis Briffa – Taħt il-Mezquita, Cordòba ta’ Norbert Bugeja – Il-maskarat ta’ Alfred Degabriele – Trid mara ta’ Leanne Ellul – Id-dgħajsa ta’ Victor Fenech – Ilħna ta’ Joe Friggieri – Roulette ta’ Joe Friggieri – Għera ta’ Joe P. Galea – Ħġieġa ta’ Maria Grech Ganado – Ġenna qatt mirbuħa ta’ Karmenu Mallia – Il-fantażma tal-mara mqarba ta’ Albert Marshall – Daħlet Qorrot ta’ Daniel Massa – Granada, parque central ta’ Immanuel Mifsud – Waħda mara ta’ Immanuel Mifsud – Mors ta’ Therese Pace – Għada ta’ Alfred Palma – Emmint xejn ma jintemm ta’ Ġorġ Peresso – Tuffieħa bl-imsiemer tal-qronfol ta’ John Peter Portelli – Lil Karmenu Vassallo ta’ Andrew Sciberras – Irrid il-qamar jiddi ta’ Carmel Scicluna – Din il-biċċa ħuta ta’ Steve Borg – Karta li taret mar-riħ ta’ Lina Brockdorff – Nixtieq, u kemm nixtieq! ta’ J. J. Camilleri – Caterina ta’ Sandro Mangion – L-għajta tal-pappagall ta’ Pierre J. Mejlak – Id-destin ta’ Laurence Mizzi – L-arloġġ tal-bozza ta’ Rita Saliba – Kurżità ta’ Alfred Sant – Il-ġeneral ta’ Vincent Vella – Mirja ta’ Trevor Żahra – L-adulteri ta’ Golan Haji, traduzzjoni ta’ Clare Azzopardi u Albert Gatt – L-istennija ta’ Berislav Blagojević, traduzzjoni ta’ Kit Azzopardi – Il-qattus ta’ Ghassan Kanafani, traduzzjoni ta’ Walid Nabhan – L-iben addottat ta’ Guy de Maupassant, traduzzjoni ta’ Josette Attard – Sunett nru. 18 ta’ William Shakespeare, traduzzjoni ta’ Alfred Palma – Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías ta’ Federico Garcia Lorca, traduzzjoni ta’ Therese Pace – Servitude et grandeur militaires ta’ Alfred de Vigny, traduzzjoni ta’ Paul Zahra.peer-reviewe

Karmenu Vassallo - Poeta li jibqa' għal dejjem

L-awtriċi tirrikonoxxi x-xogħol letterarju ta’ Karmenu Vassallo billi tagħmel analiżi letterarja.peer-reviewe