Metaphysical aesthetics is unable to account for the individuality which is characteristic of art. The individuality of art involves a unification of the universal and particular which places it in between philosophy and history. The transformative nature of artistic individuality is suggested by Aristotle, who goes beyond Plato's theory that art is an imitative artifact with edification as its only legitimate purpose. Fine art is distinguished from craft by its unification of the universal and particular, which makes it impossible to separate the meaning from its embodiment.