Caught between extremists of the right and the left, standing mutely by as culture wars rage, liberal defenders of art have failed to explain the special value of aesthetic experience. Fundamentalistic thinking about art took root. Survey of a range of controversies: among others Mapplethorpe, Rushdie, Heidegger. Fear and outrage inspired by these cases rest on a dangerous misunderstanding about the relationship between art and life. Censorship attacks the values of culture in a democratic society.