Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art raises questions about art, beauty and value that have occupied philosophers since antiquity. By combining historical theories and arguments with examples from contemporary conceptual art, literature and TV soap operas, it presents the background and supplies all the tools required to answer questions about art today.

Each chapter begins with an illustration and discussion of a work such as Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, the cover of Fahrenheit 451 and the Black Square. A comprehensive selection of topics and...