Brief Description
"For those of us who want to know what philosophers have said about beauty and the arts, this book will be especially useful. The Philosophical Review
"
Learn More about the Book
Beardsley s book accomplishes to perfection what the writer intended. It illuminates an area of history from a certain perspective as was never done before. . . . The distinguishing feature of his book is a n excitement over everything I aesthetics that has to do with symbols, meanings, language, and modes of interpretation. And this excitement has brought to light facets of the history f the subject never noticed before, or at least, not so clearly. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
"
On the Back Cover
At once a treatise for professionals and a guide for newcomers to the subject, Aesthetics is ideal both as an introductory survey of the literature on theories of art and beauty from earliest times to the present and as a text for courses in the philosophy of art. The author examines all major aspects of Western aesthetic thought, and a third of the book focuses specifically on 19th-and-20th century aesthetic theory.
Review Quotes
1. "Of the histories of aesthetics in English...Beardsley's book is the best. It is brisk, it is written in a clear plain style, and it is scholarly without being pretentious or overwhelming."For those of us who want to know what philosophers have said about beauty and the arts, this book will be especially useful."--"The Philosophical Review"
2.
"Of the histories of aesthetics in English...Beardsley's book is the best. It is brisk, it is written in a clear plain style, and it is scholarly without being pretentious or overwhelming.
"For those of us who want to know what philosophers have said about beauty and the arts, this book will be especially useful."--"The Philosophical Review"
3.
"The depth of Beardsley's scholarly competence . . . speaks from every page. He makes a masterful analysis of Aristotle's concepts . . . Then follows his chapter on the Middle Ages, which is outstanding. . . . And so the book goes forward with penetrating analysis and unexpected relevancies.
"Beardsley's book accomplishes to perfection what the writer intended. It illuminates an area of history from a certain perspective as was never done before. . . . The distinguishing feature of his book is a n excitement over everything I aesthetics that has to do with symbols, meanings, language, and modes of interpretation. And this excitement has brought to light facets of the history f the subject never noticed before, or at least, not so clearly." --"The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism"
4. Of the histories of aesthetics in English Beardsley s book is the best. It is brisk, it is written in a clear plain style, and it is scholarly without being pretentious or overwhelming.
"For those of us who want to know what philosophers have said about beauty and the arts, this book will be especially useful.
The Philosophical Review"
5. "The depth of Beardsley's scholarly competence . . . speaks from every page. He makes a masterful analysis of Aristotle s concepts . . . Then follows his chapter on the Middle Ages, which is outstanding. . . . And so the book goes forward with penetrating analysis and unexpected relevancies.
Beardsley s book accomplishes to perfection what the writer intended. It illuminates an area of history from a certain perspective as was never done before. . . . The distinguishing feature of his book is a n excitement over everything I aesthetics that has to do with symbols, meanings, language, and modes of interpretation. And this excitement has brought to light facets of the history f the subject never noticed before, or at least, not so clearly.
The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism "
