Through aesthetics as a component of DBAE we try to understand art in a broad and fundamental way, investigating possible answers to some of the basic questions people ask about art. Questions often arise when we look at and think about art. By participating in aesthetic inquiry, we participate in an age-old search for understanding. Today, aesthetics is generally approached more comprehensively. Aesthetics can include the study of art from all cultures and all times.
Philosophy encourages people to become critical thinkers.
A philosopher can be any person who engages in thinking deeply and rigorously. Students of all ages can be philosophers and utilize critical thinking through aesthetic activities in the classroom. Philosophers from Plato until the present time have discussed ideas about the nature of art. During some periods, philosophers have had very rigid ideas about what artists should create and what people should like, but in today's world, aestheticians represent a variety of different approaches to the philosophy of art. One viewpoint is presented by Parsons and Blocker in Aesthetics and Education .