Conclusions

Abstract

In this concluding chapter, I sketch a theory of the relation between fiction and social reality. Aesthetic-sensual expression is found to constitute the link between social reality and the recipient. Aesthetic perception creates the specific form through which objects, institutions, and practices become visible and perceivable. Social reality is configured by the aesthetic representation in which it is mediated. Aesthetics brings into being a shared realm of experience through which identity becomes possible. It creates the relation between the individual and his/her environment. It makes the world visible and perceptible. The conflictual character of cultural controversies shows that aesthetic languages are socially contested spaces. Aesthetic controversy becomes explainable only if aesthetics is considered as representing social orders. The arts have institutionalized the aesthetic principle, which makes them a privileged space for the creation of affective structures and a driving force in the creation of social reality.