Emotions very often form a bridge between our experience of art and of life. We frequently find that a particular poem, painting, or piece of music carries an emotional charge; we may even experience emotions towards, or on behalf of, a fictional character. These experiences are philosophically puzzling, for their causes seem quite different from the causes of emotion in the rest of our lives. Here, Derek Matravers shows that what these experiences have in common, and what links them to the expression of emotion in non-artistic cases, is the role of feelings. He analyzes various accounts of...

This clear and thorough introduction provides students with the skills necessary to understand the main thinkers, texts and arguments of political philosophy and thought. Each chapter comprises a brief overview of a major political thinker, followed by an introduction to one or more of their most influential works and an introduction to key secondary readings.
Key features include:
* exercises
* reading notes
* guides for further reading
The book introduces and assesses: Machiavelli's Prince; Hobbes' Leviathan; Locke's Second Treatise on Government;...

Derek Matravers introduces students to the philosophy of art through a close examination of eight famous works of twentieth-century art. Each work has been selected in order to best illustrate and illuminate a particular problem in aesthetics. Each artwork forms a basis for a single chapter and readers are introduced to such issues as artistic value, intention, interpretation, and expression through a careful analysis of the artwork. Questions considered include what does art mean in contemporary art practice? Is the artistic value of a painting the same as how much you like it? If a painting...