# Aesthetic Effortlessness **Opening (not a real abstract):** Although we praise effort, we prize effortlessness.1 Effortless bodily movement, effortless speech or writing, even effortless objects affect us in a way that one naturally thinks of as aesthetic. But just what is effortlessness? What are we appreciating when we admire a dancer’s effortless technique, precision, or presence? Why is it, for example, that when the renowned Alicia Markova “finishes her effortless variation, with the turn of its final phrase rounded off meticulously to the fraction of a beat, it is no wonder that the house bursts into applause almost as an automatic reaction” (Martin 1941, 15)? What makes effortlessness aesthetically valuable? The concept of aesthetic effortlessness is rarely discussed in academic circles today, particularly in analytic philosophy. Moreover, in the art world, effortlessness, though **Authors:** [[Barbara Gail Montero]]