Bloomsbury Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers

About the Author Alessandro Giovannelli is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Lafayette College, USA. Product Description Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers offers a comprehensive historical overview of the field of aesthetics. Eighteen specially commissioned essays introduce and explore the contributions of those philosophers who have shaped the subject, from its origins in the work of the ancient Greeks to contemporary developments in the 21st Century. The book reconstructs the history of aesthetics, clearly illustrating the most important attempts to address such crucial issues as the nature of aesthetic judgment, the status of art, and the place of the arts within society. Thinkers covered include: Plato, Aristotle, the main Medieval thinkers, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Croce, Collingwood, Bell, Fry, Heidegger, Benjamin, Adorno, Dewey, Beardsley, Goodman, Wollheim, Danto, and Walton. The book concludes with a concise survey of contemporary developments within aesthetics, outlining the issues that are most relevant to current debates in the field. Ideal for undergraduate students, the book lays the necessary foundations for a complete and thorough understanding of this fascinating subject. Review There are now many guides to philosophical aesthetics on the market, but this one stands out in a number of respects. First, it is organized historically, featuring articles on virtually all the major theorists of art and beauty, from Plato to Danto and beyond. Second, the slate of contributors constitutes an array of many of the best aestheticians currently active. Third, the introductory and concluding chapters by the editor, Alessandro Giovannelli, are of an exceptional interest. This book would be an invaluable supplement to any historically-oriented course on the problems of aesthetics.--Sanford LakoffWith eighteen custom-written essays by experts in the field, this survey of leading writers on aesthetics and art from the ancients to the present day covers a full range of philosophical perspectives, including analytic, Continental and pragmatist. These accessible essays provide a comprehensive historical overview of philosophical aesthetics.--Sanford LakoffWitheighteen custom-written essays by experts in the field, this survey of leadingwriters on aesthetics and art from the ancients to the present day covers afull range of philosophical perspectives, including analytic, Continental andpragmatist. These accessible essays provide a comprehensive historical overviewof philosophical aesthetics.--,