Aesthetics

A Brief Theoretical Context

David Abram (1996) in his book The Spell of the Sensuous argues that objective thought is always embedded in and influenced by the subjective, which he sees as ‘the vital dark ground’ from which the former springs. Following the influence of the Romantic Movement and the twentieth century focus on the subconscious, the ‘subjective, emotional and intuitive’ are seen as valid areas for philosophical inquiry, alongside rational knowing.

The French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty explores the relationship between direct experience and rational knowing, from a phenomenological perspective. He argues that knowledge is an ‘abstract and derivative sign-language’ which is preceded by the experience of ‘the things themselves'. He is asserting that our understanding of the abstract concept of ‘wood’, for example, is always preceded by and based in experiential knowing of physical trees. Subjective, emotional and intuitive responses associated with aesthetic awareness profoundly influence the other ways in which we make meaning. As action research springs from aesthetic perceptions of the ‘things themselves', it is argued that the aesthetic deserves closer attention.

The Intrinsic Aesthetic in Action Research

The intrinsic aesthetic in action research is now considered from a number of perspectives. These include play and poetics, both of which spring from subjective, emotional and intuitive experience. Further dimensions of place, pattern and narrative will then be touched on.

Play is a phenomenon that can be found in many, if not all, group behaviours. Johan Huizinga defined play as a phenomenon that, in contrast to work, is voluntarily engaged in. Play, he argued, also operates within rules and time boundaries. Most action research activities are understood by their volunteer participants to be taking place more or less voluntarily in a space that is different from normal work. To manage transactions, groups also need some shared procedures and explicit or implicit relational rules.

Another play theorist, Roger Caillois, identifies within the act of playing four different potentialities. These are Agon/competition, Alea/chance, Ilinx/revelry and Mimesis/role. Agon/competition is always in the room; for example, a participant might be thinking that his or her last contribution was more insightful than the others. The group's potential to resort to Ilinx/revelry can suddenly change energy levels. Alea/chance may intervene when an unexpected event or revelation pushes discussions into a new direction. As relationships develop and change, Mimesis/role will preoccupy all participants in varying degrees of self-awareness.

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