Feagin, Susan L. : University of Misosuri - Kansas City
Susan L. Feagin is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, specializing in
aesthetics.
Maynard, Patrick P. : University of Western Ontario
Patrick P. Maynard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, where he teaches
aesthetics and the history of philosophy at all levels.
Summary
Can we ever claim to understand a work of art or be objective about it? Why have cultures thought it important
to separate out a group of objects and call them art? What does aesthetics contribute to our understanding of the
natural landscape? Are the concepts of art and the aesthetic elitist?
Addressing these and other issues in aesthetics, this important new Reader includes articles ranging
from Aristotle and Xie-He to Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, Michael Baxandall, and Susan Sontag. It focuses on why art and
a variety of aesthetics matter to us, and on how perceivers participate in and contribute to the experience of
appreciating a work of art. With its multicultural and multidisciplinary scope, it shows how anthropology, art
history, Chinese theories of painting, and other perspectives both enrich and provide alternatives to classic philosophical
accounts of art and the aesthetic.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. What is distinctive about the aesthetic?
2. Why is it important to recognize objects as art?
3. Art as a vehicle for expression, creativity and freedom
4. Is it ever possible to understand a work of art?
5. Why is it important to respond emotionally to art?
6. Are evaluations of art objective?
