Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a field of study within the discipline ofphilosophy that, at least currently and during much ofthe 20th century, has addressed questions about thenature and function of art. Aesthetic theory became partof the discourse within the evaluation field primarilythrough the work of Elliot Eisner. Eisner used aesthetictheory from a number of philosophers (such as SusanneLanger and John Dewey) to conceptualize and create ajustifying rationale for an approach to evaluation basedon art criticism. Among other things, Eisner's connois-seurship-criticism model emphasized the use of literarytechniques to capture and communicate the aesthetic dimensions of the phenomena being evaluated.