Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers

Book excerpt: Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers offers a comprehensive historical overview of the field of aesthetics. Thirty specially commissioned essays introduce and explore the contributions of philosophers who have shaped the subject, from its origins in the work of the ancient Greeks to contemporary developments in the 21st century. Now thoroughly revised and updated throughout, this second edition includes new chapters on Ludwig Wittgenstein, Susanne Langer, Bernard Bolzano, as well as more coverage of post-1950 aesthetics with Frank Sibley, Stanley Cavell, Peter Kivy, Noël Carroll, Peter Lamarque, and Jerrold Levinson. 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. Ideal for undergraduate students, it lays the necessary foundations for a complete and thorough understanding of this fascinating subject.