Aesthetics: Key Concepts in Philosophy - by Daniel Alan Herwitz (Paperback)

About the Book

An introduction to aesthetics for the student encountering this key philosophical subdiscipline for the first time.

Book Synopsis

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophical thought that arises from 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. Ideal for students across the arts and humanities, the book stresses distinctively modern and contemporary problems, including the divergence between theories of aesthetics and theories of art and the problem of new media. Daniel Herwitz introduces students to aesthetic traditions, while also demonstrating their forward movement into the present. The book guides the reader through the work of philosophers who have engaged with aesthetics, including Hume, Kant, Hegel, Derrida, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. It also provides an invaluable aid for philosophy undergraduates, introducing them to the history of aesthetics and stressing the importance of understanding the subject within its historical context.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

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