IN THE HISTORY OF THOUGHT it has repeatedly happened that knowledge which brings new justice, accuracy, and beauty to the world has been met, not only with gratitude and love, but also with the resentment and anger of narrow, conceited people. So it was with the great work of persons as different as Galileo and Keats, Spinoza and Martin Luther King.
And so it has been too in the history of Aesthetic Realism. For example, for many years, various persons of the press boycotted Mr. Siegel’s work.
Aesthetic Realism makes for tremendous respect for the world and people, and therefore someone who feels entitled to have contempt for everything can become angry with it. You may have encountered this anger—along with ridiculous lies—on the web.
Meanwhile, history shows this about Galileo, Keats, Spinoza, King: as years passed, those who opposed and denigrated them came to be seen as disgraceful and ignorant. So it will be in relation to Aesthetic Realism. Aesthetic Realism is safe in history.
Further, in recent years, thousands of articles and letters about Aesthetic Realism and what it explains have appeared in print and online in the U.S. and internationally. You may have read some of these articles. We have reprinted a number here and will continue to do so. We want you to know the knowledge and kindness we have seen firsthand.
• See “Friends of Aesthetic Realism: Countering the Lies”
Featured image: Section from a world map, circa 1600