'Pain and pleasure are simple ideas, incapable of definition.' In 1757 the 27-year-old Edmund Burke argued that our aesthetic responses are experienced as pure emotional arousal, unencumbered by intellectual considerations. In so doi...

2014 Reprint of 1938 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. R. G. Collingwood (1889-1943) was primarily a general philosopher and philosopher of history, and considered hi...

Diogenes the Cynic is famed for walking the streets with a lamp in daylight, looking for an honest man. His biting wit and eccentric behavior were legendary, and it was by means of his renowned aphorisms that his moral teachings were ...

In ON BEAUTY Susan Johnson explores the role of beauty in our lives, and in her life in particular: 'Sometimes I think my whole life has been one long search for beauty. I am Australian and as such I should be embarrassed to write...

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of art, beauty, and taste. It doesn't just consider traditional artistic experiences such as artworks in a museum or an opera performance, but also everyday experiences suc...

A philosopher makes the case for thinking of works of art as tools for investigating ourselvesIn his new book, Strange Tools: Art and Human Nature, the philosopher and cognitive scientist Alva Noë raises a number of profound question...

Dissensus: On Politics and Aesthetics brings together some of Jacques Rancière's most recent writings on art and politics to show the critical potential of two of his most important concepts: the aesthetics of politics and the politi...

Beauty 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,...

A landmark book, “brilliant, thoughtful” (The Atlantic) and “raw and gorgeous” (LA Times), that fast-forwards the discussion of the central artistic issues of our time, from the bestselling author of The Thing About Life Is ...

Alongside readings of Merleau-Ponty and Levinas, Plastic Bodies digs into an array of ancient, modern, and contemporary texts in search of the resources needed to rebuild the concept of sensation. It assembles a speculative aesthetics...

Every day we talk about the aesthetics of a piece of art or design. More than a simple response, aesthetics is a philosophy in which perceptions, feelings, and emotions combine to form the whole nature of experience. Through clear tex...