Abstract

Jenkins' view is of the contextualistic order. Aesthetic experience is concerned with the vivid perception of the quality of a situation or thing. The novel feature in Jenkins' view is the stress he gives to the biological importance of this sort of experience to man. He refers to the biological account of man's adaptive success in the course of evolution, due to his highly developed intelligence --to his capacities for learning in the face of problematic situations. Jenkins then notes the biological significance of consciousness in giving a discriminating, vivid perception of a problematic situation towards a solution of its tensions.