The Challenge to Philosophy

In an earlier post I wrote something about the essence of things not existing, following Wittgenstein's attention to particular details of this thing, and Dewey's discussion of categories, that seeing clouds is not the same as seeing this cloud.  But now Dewey discusses the essence directly, stating that "we eliminate irrelevancies and retain what is indispensable" (p. 305).  This notion of the essence is heightened in art, which captures what an artist feels is the essence of a particular situation.  Dewey suggests that instead of art working towards some preconceived (and secret) essence of aesthetics, particular artworks reverse the process so that they show the essence of aesthetics by showing what is indispensable from an artist's perspective.  He says that what is essential is the experience as an experience, which as I read it implies that the essence is not a super quality nor something hidden beneath the surface.