The Relation between Moral Values and Aesthetic Values in an Artwork

The problem that there are relations between moral values and aesthetic values is a most important concern of the philosophy of art today. In the other words, the question is whether ethical criticism relates to aesthetic criticism. In response to this question, three positions have been adopted, among which the position of moderate advocates seems acceptable. Moderate advocates agree that there are relations between moral values and aesthetic values, but disagree on how they relate to each other. They believe that moral virtue/vice and aesthetic merit/demerit are related to each other in several ways. Here, it can be found, at least, four important views worth speaking of: (1) sometimes a moral virtue in a work of art becomes an aesthetic merit in it, (2) sometimes a moral vice in a work of art becomes an aesthetic demerit in it, (3) sometimes a moral vice in a work of art results in an aesthetic merit in it, and (4) sometimes an aesthetic merit in a work of art results in a moral virtue.