Praised in its original edition for its up-to-date, rigorous presentation of current debates and for the clarity of its presentation, Robert Stecker's new edition of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art preserves the major themes and conclusions of the original, while expanding its content, providing new features, and enhancing accessibility. Stecker introduces students to the history and evolution of aesthetics, and also makes an important distinction between aesthetics and philosophy of art. While aesthetics is the study of value, philosophy of art deals with a much wider array of questions including issues in metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, as well value theory. Described as a "remarkably unified introduction to many contemporary debates in aesthetics and the philosophy of art," Stecker specializes in sympathetically laying bear the play of argument that emerges as competing views on a topic engage each other. This book does not simply present a controversy in its current state of play, but instead demonstrates a philosophical mind at work helping to advance the issue toward a solution.
Robert Stecker is professor of philosophy at Central Michigan University.
Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 Preface to Second EditionChapter 3 IntroductionChapter 4 Part I: AestheticsChapter 5 Environmental Aesthetics: Natural BeautyChapter 6 Conceptions of the Aesthetic: Aesthetic ExperienceChapter 7 Conceptions of the Aesthetic: Aesthetic PropertiesChapter 8 Part II: Philosophy of ArtChapter 9 What is Art?Chapter 10 What Kind of Object is a Work of Art?Chapter 11 Interpretation and the Problem of the Relevant IntentionChapter 12 Representation: FictionChapter 13 Representation: DepictionChapter 14 Expressiveness in Music and PoetryChapter 15 Artistic ValueChapter 16 Interaction: Ethical, Aesthetic and Artistic ValueChapter 17 The Value of ArchitectureChapter 18 ConclusionChapter 19 ReferencesChapter 20 Index
Robert Stecker's excellent book was already the best high-level introduction to philosophical aesthetics in the analytic tradition. It has retained this distinction in its second edition, while becoming both more accessible and more wide-ranging, and is appropriate for use in both undergraduate and graduate courses.