Abstract

Convinced that we need a new aesthetic theory, Berleant attempts "to carry forward such an effort by developing and documenting a framework for aesthetic inquiry free from the restrictive ideas of the recent past". The book divides into three unequal parts. The first offers a sketch of traditional aesthetics and, mindful of the impact of technological change on aesthetic experience, proposes that we replace such key features, often taken for granted, as "disinterestedness" and "contemplation" with "engagement" and "participation." The five chapters of the second part develop these ideas in discussions of painting, sculpture, novels, music, and dance. The third part begins with a thought-provoking discussion of film, "the mass art of our day", and proceeds to a consideration of "the realities of art". This part concludes with a brief look at some of the broad implications of this attempt to recast aesthetics.