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Philosophies of Art and Beauty: Selected Readings in Aesthetics from Plato to Heidegger
This anthology is remarkable not only for the selections themselves, among which the Schelling and the Heidegger essays were translated especially for this volume, 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.
728 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 10, 2009
"Philosophies of Art and Beauty" is the text I most often use for my classes simply because what it does, it does better than any other available anthology: aside from some missing Kant sections and no Renaissance writers or Hume selections, it has virtually every essntial text and passage written by the most enduringly influential philosophers of art up to 1930 except perhaps Tolstoy. It includes Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Ficino, Shaftesbury, Kant, Schelling, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Croce, Dewey, and Heidegger. (It has no Gadamer, contrary to the claims of another reviewer.) But the book includes no contemporary theory at all except that of Heidegger. And the chapter introductions, while solid, are certainly dated since it's been almost a half a century since the book was compiled.
Ross' anthology, by contrast, includes the really important material from Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger (which most other aesthetics anthologies, excepting Hofstadter's, do not), plus it has selections from Hume and Tolstoy and many contemporary figures of import. But the early historical selections are much less comprehensive than those in Hofstadter's volume, and Ross includes no medieval or Renaissance writers at all.
I like the Hofstadter text mostly because of the depth of its selections and because it's not the least bit trendy. But since Hofstadter's book has no contemporary theory at all after Heidegger, it may not be the text for those who want a broad representation of theory.
In sum, if you want an anthology that comes close to covering all the essential writers on the subject (past and present) and doing it fairly well, "Art and Its Significance" is perhaps your best choice despite its nod to trendiness. But if you want to concentrate on pre-20th century theory and know you've covering almost all the important writings of those figures, then Hofstadter's "Philosophies of Art and Beauty" is the better book. And it's perhaps the most reasonably priced philosophy of art anthology available.
Ross' anthology, by contrast, includes the really important material from Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger (which most other aesthetics anthologies, excepting Hofstadter's, do not), plus it has selections from Hume and Tolstoy and many contemporary figures of import. But the early historical selections are much less comprehensive than those in Hofstadter's volume, and Ross includes no medieval or Renaissance writers at all.
I like the Hofstadter text mostly because of the depth of its selections and because it's not the least bit trendy. But since Hofstadter's book has no contemporary theory at all after Heidegger, it may not be the text for those who want a broad representation of theory.
In sum, if you want an anthology that comes close to covering all the essential writers on the subject (past and present) and doing it fairly well, "Art and Its Significance" is perhaps your best choice despite its nod to trendiness. But if you want to concentrate on pre-20th century theory and know you've covering almost all the important writings of those figures, then Hofstadter's "Philosophies of Art and Beauty" is the better book. And it's perhaps the most reasonably priced philosophy of art anthology available.
May 9, 2013
Except for the chapter on John Dewey, this text is most useful for studying the history of philosophical thought on aesthetics, not aesthetics as a lived experience and practice.
April 28, 2025
Read excerpts for Philosophy of Beauty class at Bethlehem College
December 24, 2023
if i had to suffer through this it better count towards my reading goal
April 20, 2019
Read a bulk of this for a class. While the primary sources are great, and are well collected to present different philosophers views on beauty, I found the editors introductions to each section to be, at times, misleading. Still a great resource nonetheless.
January 2, 2023
I wish i could give 3.5 stars.
This is a great collection of snippets of texts on aesthetics in philosophy. It serves as a sampler platter or a good primer. Starting with Plato and ending with the likes of Dewey and Heidegger there is a wide variety of eras, systems, and thinkers and the reader sees the evolution of aesthetics in some regards.
I give this 3.5 stars because the translation of Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy is poor and the inclusion of Birth of Tragedy is unfortunate. BoT was N's first serious work but it is his intellectual infancy and he later grew to completely denounce his views in the book, he did so explicitly in a preface added many years later (which is not included!).
If you want a great sampler of philosophy of aesthetics (up to Heidegger) and do not care about the quality of the translated texts included, then this book is for you. Before each text there is a few pages of introduction from the people that put this anthology together and they are generally serviceable and helpful.
Aesthetics is one of the harder branches of philosophy to jump into so with that in mind i think the faults are outweighed
This is a great collection of snippets of texts on aesthetics in philosophy. It serves as a sampler platter or a good primer. Starting with Plato and ending with the likes of Dewey and Heidegger there is a wide variety of eras, systems, and thinkers and the reader sees the evolution of aesthetics in some regards.
I give this 3.5 stars because the translation of Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy is poor and the inclusion of Birth of Tragedy is unfortunate. BoT was N's first serious work but it is his intellectual infancy and he later grew to completely denounce his views in the book, he did so explicitly in a preface added many years later (which is not included!).
If you want a great sampler of philosophy of aesthetics (up to Heidegger) and do not care about the quality of the translated texts included, then this book is for you. Before each text there is a few pages of introduction from the people that put this anthology together and they are generally serviceable and helpful.
Aesthetics is one of the harder branches of philosophy to jump into so with that in mind i think the faults are outweighed
August 11, 2023
A convenient anthology of writings on philosophical aesthetics, of interest to the student who wants to go beyond the encyclopedia article or textbook to the source documents themselves. Inevitably the reader will be drawn to some philosophers (for me, Dewey, Schopenhauer, and to my surprise, Hegel), and repulsed by others (Augustine, Nietzsche, Heidegger), and ambivalent or lukewarm to still others. In any case, the volume succeeds handsomely in showing the organic and historical development of thought on the nature and significance of the fine arts as initiated by Plato, who influenced everyone who came after, directly or indirectly, positively or negatively. Also, the book itself is beautiful—the cover design, font, layout, etc.—as it should be for a book on aesthetics.
May 15, 2019
Tons of weighty questions pulled into a fairly inclusive and concise collection. Beautifully arranged and a great way to discover your "favorite" philosophers among both the common and uncommon names.
July 6, 2022
Read this for the new translations of Schelling and Heidegger and enjoyed it in its entirety. It’s a little jarring due to a truncated Kant section but overall contains the entire philosophical history of aesthetics. The introduction is useful and notations are sparse - 5 stars
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September 6, 2019111.8508 H7138 1976
January 4, 2021
Great selection of texts. Well-edited.
April 2, 2021
A wonderful book of selected writings on the eternal question of beauty!
May 26, 2011
I discovered this book only recently in a bookstore, although it was first published in 1964. It must have always escaped my eye.
Each chapter treats one philosopher. Except for short but informing introductory texts preceding each chapter, the bulk of the book consists of texts written by the philosophers themselves, and so, for many readers who are interested in philosophy of art, there are perhaps no great discoveries to be made.
And yet I was not acquainted with the ideas of John Dewey (1859-1952) on art and I was surprised to see that he had some theories about form in art and about art being more moral than moralities similar to those of Clive Bell (1881-1964), about whom I wrote my masterpaper for my Master in Philosophy (people who want to read this paper can leave me a message, I will then mail it to them). I was pretty amazed that Bell was not mentioned in this book, because he together with Roger Fry (1866-1934) are somewhat considered to be the ‘inventors’ of the formal approach to art.
“But art, wherein man speaks in no wise to man,
Only to mankind – art may tell a truth
Obliquely, do the deed shall breed the thought.”
(John Dewey)
So, surprises in reading this selection of texts are not to be ruled out. But apart from that, I find it extremely convenient to have ‘all’ philosophies of art and theories on beauty and aesthetics brought together in one book. But why have not they updated it?
Each chapter treats one philosopher. Except for short but informing introductory texts preceding each chapter, the bulk of the book consists of texts written by the philosophers themselves, and so, for many readers who are interested in philosophy of art, there are perhaps no great discoveries to be made.
And yet I was not acquainted with the ideas of John Dewey (1859-1952) on art and I was surprised to see that he had some theories about form in art and about art being more moral than moralities similar to those of Clive Bell (1881-1964), about whom I wrote my masterpaper for my Master in Philosophy (people who want to read this paper can leave me a message, I will then mail it to them). I was pretty amazed that Bell was not mentioned in this book, because he together with Roger Fry (1866-1934) are somewhat considered to be the ‘inventors’ of the formal approach to art.
“But art, wherein man speaks in no wise to man,
Only to mankind – art may tell a truth
Obliquely, do the deed shall breed the thought.”
(John Dewey)
So, surprises in reading this selection of texts are not to be ruled out. But apart from that, I find it extremely convenient to have ‘all’ philosophies of art and theories on beauty and aesthetics brought together in one book. But why have not they updated it?
September 19, 2021
Art and Mind
This book is am immense work spanning the philosophies of art and beauty from Ancient to Modern times. The history of thought from art and beauty as aesthetic cognition to the modern model of art and beauty as a facet of cognitive processes is thoroughly presented. It is an intense journey but we’ll worth the effort.
This book is am immense work spanning the philosophies of art and beauty from Ancient to Modern times. The history of thought from art and beauty as aesthetic cognition to the modern model of art and beauty as a facet of cognitive processes is thoroughly presented. It is an intense journey but we’ll worth the effort.
February 4, 2018
I've read a some of this, not all selections yet. Very good introduction to each philosopher and some good selections of their works related to beauty and truth. Planning to use it for a high-school aesthetics course (along with other material).
January 5, 2015
Excellent selection of work.
Especially a fan of the John Dewey selections.
But it's all very good.
Especially a fan of the John Dewey selections.
But it's all very good.
October 20, 2011
Sometimes painful reading, but the effect is worth the frustration.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews