Description

A remarkably wide-ranging anthology that covers the major philosophical works on art and aesthetics from the ancients to today

This anthology of primary texts gathers an incredibly large number of the most important philosophical writings on art and aesthetics from the ancient Greeks to contemporary thought. Albert Hofstadter and Richard Kuhns present English-language translations of works of

Plato
Aristotle
Plotinus
Augustine
Marsilio Ficino
Earl of Shaftesbury
Kant
Schelling
Hegel
Schopenhauer
Nietzsche
Benedetto Croce
John Dewey
Heidegger

This anthology is remarkable not only for those selections, but also for the editors' general introduction and the introductory essays for each selection, which make this volume an invaluable aid to the study of the powerful, recurrent ideas concerning art, beauty, critical method, and the nature of representation. Because this collection makes clear the ways in which the philosophy of art relates to and is part of general philosophical positions, it will be an essential sourcebook to students of philosophy, art history, and literary criticism.