Aesthetics A Comprehensive Anthology

The appreciation of art and the pursuit of beauty are fundamental elements of human life, and for almost as long as we have engaged in philosophical inquiry we have been theorizing about aesthetic matters. Covering nearly 2,500 years of theory and analysis, this anthology offers the most comprehensive collection of readings on aesthetics and philosophy of art currently available. From Plato's Ion to work by contemporary philosophers of art, Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology showcases classic texts that speak for themselves in showing the development of philosophical thought about art and the aesthetic. Thorough, systematic, and flexible, this volume is an ideal guide to the field and makes an excellent textbook for a variety of courses in philosophical aesthetics.

Steven M. Cahn is Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of nine books, including Fate, Logic, and Time, Saints and Scamps: Ethics in Academia, revised edition, Puzzles and Perplexities, second edition, and God, Reason, and Religion. He has also edited or co-edited some thirty volumes, including Classics of Western Philosophy, now in its seventh edition.

Aaron Meskin is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds. His publications on aesthetics have appeared in the British Journal of Aesthetics, the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research and a number of anthologies. He is also aesthetics editor for the online journal Philosophy Compass (Wiley-Blackwell).