A Bridge Between Traditions: The Sense of Beauty in the Aesthetic Theories of Francis Hutcheson and George Santayana

Abstract

Although a fair amount of secondary literature on George Santayana’saesthetics has been produced, almost none of these works – to the best of our knowledge – is concerned with linking his production to the context of the formation of American aesthetics. This is precisely the main purpose of this article. The hypothesis supported here is that by critically comparing the concepts of «sense of beauty» proposed by George Santayana and inspired by Francis Hutcheson’s work, it is possible to highlight the influence of classical British aesthetic theory on the emerging aesthetic tradition in the United States at the end of the 19th century.