Aesthetic Theory is generally considered a subcategory of philosophy or more precisely of value theory. Yet, within the framework of Architectural History and Theory the question of aesthetics is above all one of interiority, that is, one that escapes all other disciplines. To be sure, major historical and theoretical figures have played crucial roles in the ongoing debates concerning aesthetics; however, these disciplines by themselves have proved unable to answer the central questions. Research into Gothic figuration techniques, or the morphological theories of Goethe or those of Vitruvius, or even into the work of Ruskin and Morris, have shown us again and again that internal rules drive design without any proper external references.