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American Pragmatism

Art & Science Reconciled

Nikolaos Gkogkas on the aesthetics of Nelson Goodman.

Nelson Goodman (1906-98) was one of the best-known American philosophers of the twentieth century. One of his main philosophical objectives was clarity of the ideas and concepts employed by philosophy. But his work also dealt extensively with aesthetics and the arts. And, being pragmatically-oriented, he thought that theory and practice are worth pursuing so long as they help us produce a coherent or right version of what works for us in the sciences and the arts.

It is true that we don’t normally associate the realms of culture and art with matters of utility and science.

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