Bloomsbury Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers

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.