Frank Sibley (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
Frank Noel Sibley was a British philosopher who worked mainly in the field of aesthetics
. He was a professor of philosophy
at Lancaster University. Sibley is best known for his 1959 paper "Aesthetic Concepts" (Philosophical Review, 68), and for "Seeking, Scrutinizing and Seeing" (Mind, 64, 1954). Both papers (and some others) have been anthologized, "Aesthetic Concepts" multiple times.
Sibley has been considered an important contributor to Aesthetics in the analytical tradition. His collected papers, including some posthumous, were published by Oxford University Press in 2001 as Approach To Aesthetics, together with a companion volume of critical and evaluative essays on his work.
He was the uncle of the writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley
.
Topics and problems relating to taste thus became very important to Sibley's approach, and he returned to them through his career. Also, Sibley did not see Aesthetics as remote from philosophy as whole. This is very clear from his brief programmatic note "About Taste", published in 1966 in British Journal of Aesthetics. Here Sibley states the situation thus:
and the philosophy of mind
. His first published paper was a long review of Gilbert Ryle
's Concept of Mind in 1950. Later he contributed another piece on Ryle, "Ryle and Thinking", to Ryle: Collection of Essays.
He wrote two papers on the theory of perception, and some papers on the borderline of that field and aesthetics, one paper on colours, and a little piece on applied philosophy. One posthumous paper deals extensively with a certain distinction made by Peter Geach
. Other than these, his work was in aesthetics.
discusses Sibley's views, and those of his critics.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. He was a professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Lancaster University. Sibley is best known for his 1959 paper "Aesthetic Concepts" (Philosophical Review, 68), and for "Seeking, Scrutinizing and Seeing" (Mind, 64, 1954). Both papers (and some others) have been anthologized, "Aesthetic Concepts" multiple times.
Sibley has been considered an important contributor to Aesthetics in the analytical tradition. His collected papers, including some posthumous, were published by Oxford University Press in 2001 as Approach To Aesthetics, together with a companion volume of critical and evaluative essays on his work.
He was the uncle of the writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley
Brian Sibley is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes.- Early life :...
.
Work in aesthetics
Most of Sibley's work in aesthetics is collected in Approach to Aesthetics. He is especially well known for his attempts to distinguish the domains of aesthetic and non-aesthetic. His 1959 paper "Aesthetic Concepts" is often referred as one of the landmarks of 20th century aesthetics in the tradition of analytic philosophy. The paper is rich in themes, but the main line of thought suggest that aesthetic concepts cannot be reduced to non-aesthetic concepts, or sufficiently defined in terms of non-aesthetic concepts. This leads Sibley to think that grasping properties of given items requires the capability to exercise taste or aesthetic sensibility.Topics and problems relating to taste thus became very important to Sibley's approach, and he returned to them through his career. Also, Sibley did not see Aesthetics as remote from philosophy as whole. This is very clear from his brief programmatic note "About Taste", published in 1966 in British Journal of Aesthetics. Here Sibley states the situation thus:
"The programme that aestheticians must face is thus a large one, the charting of a huge areas neglected by other philosophers working within their customary bonds. Indeed, far from it's(sicSicSic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) being true that aesthetics is peripheral to philosophy, aestheticians encounter ranges of concepts wider than and inevitably including of those studied by most other branches of philosophy."
Work in other fields
Beside aesthetics, Sibley worked on the philosophy of perceptionPhilosophy of perception
The philosophy of perception is concerned with the nature of perceptual experience and the status of perceptual data, in particular how they relate to beliefs about, or knowledge of, the world. Any explicit account of perception requires a commitment to one of a variety of ontological or...
and the philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
. His first published paper was a long review of Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle , was a British philosopher, a representative of the generation of British ordinary language philosophers that shared Wittgenstein's approach to philosophical problems, and is principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "the ghost in the...
's Concept of Mind in 1950. Later he contributed another piece on Ryle, "Ryle and Thinking", to Ryle: Collection of Essays.
He wrote two papers on the theory of perception, and some papers on the borderline of that field and aesthetics, one paper on colours, and a little piece on applied philosophy. One posthumous paper deals extensively with a certain distinction made by Peter Geach
Peter Geach
Peter Thomas Geach is a British philosopher. His areas of interest are the history of philosophy, philosophical logic, and the theory of identity.He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford...
. Other than these, his work was in aesthetics.
Works of Sibley
- Frank Sibley (1954) "Seeking, Scrutinizing and Seeing" Mind, 64. Also in Geoffrey WarnockGeoffrey WarnockSir Geoffrey James Warnock was a philosopher and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Before his knighthood , he was commonly known as G. J. Warnock.- Life :...
(ed.) (1967) The Philosophy of Perception. Oxford. - Frank Sibley (2001) Approach To Aesthetics. Collected Papers On Philosophical Aesthetics. Edited by J. Benson & al. Oxford.
Papers on Sibley
- R. David Broiles (1964), "Frank Sibley's "Aesthetic Concepts"". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 23/2, 219-225.
- Gary Stahl (1971), "Sibley's "Aesthetic Concepts": An Ontological Mistake". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 29/3, 385-389
On-line references and reading
Nick Zangwill's article "Aesthetic Judgment" in Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a freely-accessible online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. Each entry is written and maintained by an expert in the field, including professors from over 65 academic institutions worldwide...
discusses Sibley's views, and those of his critics.