Aesthetics: Key Concepts in Philosophy

Description

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophical thought that arises from deep engagement with the arts. It is about larger issues such as meaning, identity, and medium that arise in the exploration of art, music, film and literature. Aesthetics: Key Concepts in Philosophy offers a thorough, lucid and stimulating account of the central theories and ideas encountered in aesthetics. The text is thematically structured, covering the discipline's principal concepts: taste, aesthetic judgment, aesthetic experience, and the definition of art. It includes an overview of the history of aesthetics and guides the reader through the work of all major philosophers who have engaged with aesthetics.

Daniel Herwitz is Fredrick Huetwell Professor of Philosophy, History of Art and Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan, USA where for a decade he directed the Institute for the Humanities. His previously published books include Aesthetics, Arts and Politics in a Global World (2017), the award winning Star as Icon (2008), and M.F. Husain (1988).

"Herwitz attends to a whole array of important aesthetic topics in four perfectly focused chapters. Indispensable reading for humanities and philosophy students and for anyone else who is simply interested in the arts." - Professor Lydia Goehr, Columbia University, USA "This is a solid grounding for students in philosophy, film studies, history and art." - Book News, November 2008