Streszczenie
According to American pragmatist John Dewey (1859–1952), art is an experience (not necessarily an object) and as such it might potentially cover all human interactions. To put it otherwise, an aesthetic experience is needed to create a meaningful piece of art. For human beings, the most stimulating environment for having aesthetic experiences is social life. Two main spheres of the aesthetic experience are distinguished: private and public. At first it seems that Dewey followed the modernist distinction, because he coined the terms of private consummatory experiences and public aesthetic experiences. However, in many respects, the distinction seems artificial and does not explain the phenomenon of Dewey’s aesthetics. The paper addresses the issue and tries to capture the spirit of Deweyan aesthetics by analysing various aesthetic experiences.