A Praise of the Dilettante, or the Joy in Finite Things

Abstract

This kind of dilettante "“who lives in the middle of a crisis of civilization- is able to exercise a personal discernment, without fear or frivolity, according to the own circumstances and preferences. It is not a capricious attitude, but a cultivated and joyful one, paying attention to the beauty in finite things. The amateur outline is both ethical and esthetical and it is drawn in a dialogue with Weber, Lichtenberg and Bordieu. On the other hand, we are talking about a mediator "“not a specialist- that builds relations between an objective (Steiner) and a subjective (Wilde) theory of art, in order to create an enriching and autonomous way of living, like Montaigne did.