The Philosopher

Denis Dutton

The face

The background

Nationality:
American and New Zealander
Schools:
Libertarianism
Branchs:
Philosophy of art, Evolutionary psychology, Media, Aesthetics
Period:
Contemporary

The synopsis

Denis Laurence Dutton (9 February 1944 – 28 December 2010) was an American philosopher of art, a web entrepreneur, and a media activist. He was a professor of philosophy at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was also a co-founder and co-editor of the websites Arts & Letters Daily, ClimateDebateDaily.com, and cybereditions.com. Dutton was born in Los Angeles, California, on 9 February 1944. He was educated at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned his bachelor's and PhD degrees in philosophy. He taught at several American universities before emigrating to New Zealand in 1984 to teach at the University of Canterbury. He was best known for founding the web aggregation site Arts & Letters Daily in 1998. He also served as executive director of Cybereditions, a print-on-demand publishing company he founded in 2000. Dutton wrote on authenticity in art and argued that art appreciation stems from evolutionary adaptations. He also criticized academic prose, notably through his 'Bad Writing Contest'. Dutton supported conservative ideas and was a member of the Libertarian Party. He was also a founding member and chair of the NZ Skeptics and a supporter of public radio.

The works

The quotes

I have seen journals with good financial backing and editorial support die because they looked so bad nobody wanted to publish them.
Denis Dutton
It's a grave mistake in publishing, whether you're talking about Internet or print publication, to try to play to a limited repertoire of established reader interests.
Denis Dutton
I try to figure out - intellectually, philosophically, psychologically - what the experience of beauty is.
Denis Dutton
I think the idea of the social construction of beauty - this idea that beauty is simply whatever culture or society says it is - is on the run. Of course, beauty does arise in a cultural context. No one ever denies that. But there's also a natural response people have to it.
Denis Dutton
Dumbing down takes many forms: art that is good for you, museums that flatter you, universities that increase your self-esteem. Culture, after all, is really about you.
Denis Dutton
It's clear on the one hand that an education enriches and informs a response to beauty, even makes it possible in esoteric cases. On the other hand, there's no question that someone with no musical education whatsoever might wander into a concert hall and be overwhelmed by the 'Beethoven Pastoral Symphony'.
Denis Dutton
My parents were in the book business, my brothers still run the Dutton bookstores in Los Angeles, and I've been interested in editing books and journals all of my life.
Denis Dutton