Croce, Gemelli e l’estetica sperimentale

Abstract

The experimental approach to aesthetics, proposed by Gustav Fechner, was discussed in Italy at the beginning of the Twentieth century from different point of views. Benedetto Croce severely criticized experimental aesthetics by considering it as reductionist and naturalist. In contrast, the psychologist Agostino Gemelli stated the experimental validity and the theoretical relevance of this research perspective in determining the laws of aesthetic preference and judgment.