First published in 1970. What is a work of art? What is the status of things in pictures and books? How are we to distinguish and ascertain the meaning of a literary work at various levels? This book is intended both to introduce the reader to classic philosophical accounts of art and beauty, and to bring out the significance for aesthetics of recent developments in philosophy.

First published in 1991. The arts can only thrive in a culture where there is conversation about them. This is particularly true of the arts in an education context. Yet often the discussion is poor because we do not have the necessary concepts for the elaboration of our aesthetic responses, or sufficient familiarity with the contending schools of interpretation. The aim of "Key Concepts "is to engender a broad and informed conversation about the arts.

By means of over sixty alphabetically ordered essays, the author offers a map of aesthetics, critical theory and the arts in education....

First published in 1949. This title provides an introduction into the subject of aesthetics, and the problems associated with it. Aesthetics is not strictly a criterion or rule for production or appreciation, and cannot directly alter our aesthetic experiences, but only helps us to understand them. "An Introduction to Aesthetics "explores this theory, and will be of interest to students of both art and philosophy.

First published in 1990. How we perceive and respond to the visual image has been traditional concern of psychologists, philosophers and art historians. Today, where the visual image increasingly permeates our everyday life and consciousness, the question becomes ever more relevant. How do we, for instance, instinctively know what it is that a picture represents without having to be taught? How it is that we experience (aesthetic) pleasure in looking at certain pictures? How is it that we often want to talk about the pictures we look at?

Such questions are currently asked by a wide...

First published in 1933. The purpose of this work was to bridge a gap in English philosophical literature by completing the elaborate history of Bosanquet and to stimulate and enrich the whole study of aesthetics by means of his personal destructive and constructive criticism. This title will be of interest to students of philosophy.

First published in 1953. This title provides an exposition and discussion on Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893), the leader of the Naturalist movement in French criticism. The book examines his theories and some of his practice, as a critic of literature and art. A more general consideration of the chief issues raised by his central problem is also given, namely the attempt to approach the analysis and judgement of works of art historically, and thus to provide an objective basis of criticism. This title will be of interest to students of art history and philosophy.

This set reissues 6 books on aesthetics originally published between 1933 and 1991. The volumes provide a clear introduction to classic philosophical accounts of art and beauty, as well as exploring the significance of aesthetics in more recent developments in philosophy.