Entailment theory, a concept that describes the relationship between moral and non-moral properties, originated in ethics and has since spread to other fields such as aesthetics, psychology, and linguistics. Aesthetic entailment explains the dependence of aesthetic properties on non-aesthetic properties, and addresses the problem of justification and inconsistency in aesthetic judgment. Exploring the various applications and practical aspects of entailment theory can contribute to academic development and innovation.
The concept of entailment, a term that describes the relationship between some properties and others, originated in the field of ethics and spread to other disciplines. According to entailment theory, moral properties and non-moral properties (natural properties) can be described as follows. For example, it is difficult to say, “Confucius is a good person,” and then claim that there is another person who is in the same situation as Confucius and behaves the same as him, but is not a good person. In other words, since moral properties depend on non-moral properties, two individuals who are identical in non-moral properties are also identical in moral properties.
Influenced by this discussion, aesthetics has also seen the emergence of aestheticians who see an aesthetic entailment between aesthetic and non-aesthetic properties. According to Sibley, aesthetic properties are those that can be perceived by the viewer through the exercise of aesthetic sensitivity, while non-aesthetic properties are those that can be perceived through the exercise of perceptual faculties such as sight and hearing. Aesthetic entailment can be said to be a relationship in which the aesthetic properties of a work depend on the non-aesthetic properties of the work. In other words, aesthetic entailment theory believes that there is no difference in aesthetic properties without a difference in non-aesthetic properties.
Aesthetic entailment is important because it can provide clues to aesthetic realists about the problem of justifying aesthetic judgments. For example, an aesthetic realist might use entailment to justify the aesthetic judgment that the Symphony of Destiny is majestic. The idea is that majesty entails a non-aesthetic property, such as a slow rhythm or a descending melody, and that non-aesthetic property is found in the Symphony of Destiny.
However, aesthetic entailment theorists who accept aesthetic entailment have difficulty accounting for the problem of irreconcilable inconsistency in aesthetic judgment. An irreconcilable disagreement is when there is a serious disagreement among appreciators in judging the aesthetic properties of an object, and the disagreement occurs even though the appreciators do not lack perceptual ability, knowledge, or aesthetic sensitivity. The irreconcilable disagreement in aesthetic judgments shows the difficulty for aesthetic realists to readily accept aesthetic entailment. This is because aesthetic entailmentism poses such a difficult problem for aesthetic realists.
For the aesthetic antirealist, irresolvable inconsistencies in aesthetic judgment are natural. Therefore, the existence of this phenomenon should make it difficult for aesthetic antirealists to accept aesthetic entailment. However, an anti-realist who does not accept aesthetic entailment will have a hard time explaining how aesthetic judgments can be justified. This is because if different aesthetic judgments can be true for different people, this would lead to extreme subjectivism. This is why some aesthetic antirealists see aesthetic entailmentism as worthy of attention.
As such, it is worth exploring further the impact of entailment theory in various fields. From its origins in ethics, the concept has spread to other disciplines, including aesthetics, psychology, and linguistics, and has become an important topic of discussion. For example, psychology studies the entailment relationship between emotional responses and neurophysiological states, while linguistics analyzes the entailment relationship between semantic properties and grammatical structures. These diverse applications show how broad and multifaceted entailment theory is.
Entailment theory is also useful in practical terms. For example, in artificial intelligence development, entailment relationships between emotions and behaviors are analyzed in order to understand and emulate human emotional responses. Thus, entailment theory plays an important role not only in theoretical inquiry but also in practical applications. Deepening our understanding of entailment theory and applying it to various fields will contribute to both academic advancement and practical innovation.
