Touch and the Genuine

Abstract

The first chapter contains the gist of the argument that is expanded throughout the book, namely, that encounters with genuine old things—also called Real Things—are aesthetic in character, despite the fact that the property of being genuine is nonperceptible. The first section of this chapter defends an “experiential” account of the aesthetic, acknowledging the importance of belief that the object of one’s experience is genuine. The distinction between historical value and age value is advanced to support the aesthetic character of old things. The root of encounters with old things can be found in the role that touch plays, even absent the ability to make literal contact with an object. Several avenues are explored that might explain what has been criticized as “magical thinking” regarding the “transitivity” of touch—the impression of communion with others who have also touched an object.