Beauty: A Very Short IntroductionBeauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference. In this Very Short Introduction the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object - either in art, in nature, or the human form - beautiful, and examining how we can compare differing judgements of beauty when it is evident all around us that our tastes vary so widely. Is there a right judgement to be made about beauty? Is it right to say there is more beauty in a classical temple than a concrete office block, more in a Rembrandt than in last year's Turner Prize winner? Forthright and thought-provoking, and as accessible as it is intellectually rigorous, this introduction to the philosophy of beauty draws conclusions that some may find controversial, but, as Scruton shows, help us to find greater sense of meaning in the beautiful objects that fill our lives. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
Contents
1 | |
2 Human Beauty | 34 |
3 Natural Beauty | 58 |
4 Everyday Beauty | 80 |
5 Artistic Beauty | 97 |
6 Taste and Order | 133 |
7 Art and Er333s | 148 |
8 The Flight from Beauty | 167 |
9 Concluding Thoughts | 195 |
Notes and Further Reading | 199 |
215 | |
221 | |
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Common terms and phrases
addiction aesthetic interest aesthetic judgement appearance appreciate Aquinas architecture argued argument artistic aspect attempt beautiful soul believe body chapter claim concept connection contemplation criticism Critique of Judgement culture describe desecration Disneyfication distinction emotion erotic art example experience of beauty expression fantasy feel Figure fittingness Francis Hutcheson François Boucher function garden Geoffrey Miller goal Hence human beauty idea images imagination imply individual Ingmar Bergman judgement of beauty judgement of taste Kant kind kitsch landscape live London look Malcolm Budd meaning melody metaphor mind modern moral natural beauty object Oxford painting person philosophical platitudes Plato pleasure Plotinus poem pornography present profanation question R. G. Collingwood rational reality realm response Roger Scruton sacred Scruton sense of beauty sensory sentiment sexual desire soul style sublime suggests T. S. Eliot theory things thought tion Titian tradition true truth understand universal Venus words