Aesthetics: Key Concepts in Philosophy

Aesthetics is a term often misused in general speech. It has been attached to an image of a rarified artistic type who lives for beauty and shuns reality. Herwitz (humanities, University of Michigan) presents aesthetics as a philosophy of understanding. In this introduction he traces the beginnings of the concept in the eighteenth century as part of the search for absolute definitions of beauty, art, truth and other intangibles. He shows how the subject was refined and altered by later philosophers such as Hegel, Kant, Wittgenstein, Dewey and Hume. The incorporation of historical and psychological theories into the study of aesthetics makes the point that the understanding of the subject increases the ability to perceive meaning in any form of art, including film, music and literature. This is a solid grounding for students in philosophy, film studies, history and art. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Daniel Herwitz is Mary Fair Croushore Professor of Humanities and Director of the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan.