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Pieman333272
Guest
Aesthetics seems like one of the most fascinating sub-fields of philosophy for me, but I can’t find any good introductions to it. Does anybody know any?
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AlTheCollegeGal
Guest
Yes, I think you should look into Edmund Burke’s “A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of The Sublime and Beautiful.” Then you can perhaps compare differing pieces of art/music in a philosophical experiment; see if you agree with Burke’s assessment, and which parts compel you more than others? Is one better than the other? 
Hopefully, this should help!
Hopefully, this should help!
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Pieman333272
Guest
Hoo! Quite the title! But I’ll keep it in mind and try to pick up a copy. Any other recommendations?Yes, I think you should look into Edmund Burke’s “A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of The Sublime and Beautiful.” Then you can perhaps compare differing pieces of art/music in a philosophical experiment; see if you agree with Burke’s assessment, and which parts compel you more than others? Is one better than the other?
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AlTheCollegeGal
Guest
Well, Immanuel Kant is always a good read. I’m an ethics sort of person myself, but what he has to say about aesthetics basically echoes and amends Burke’s original position. Hopefully, this helps.
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empther
Guest
Begin with this very thorough wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics
It has a million references. Go in the direction that suits you.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics
It has a million references. Go in the direction that suits you.
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Portofino
Guest
Couple of more recommendations for you:
The Sense of Beauty by George Santayana (20th century American philosopher who was born in Spain):
books.google.com/books/about/The_Sense_of_Beauty.html?id=uauHVClZEd4C
There also is a thought-provoking commentary by James Joyce, regarding the aesthetics of Aquinas. He writes, in “Stephen Hero” (an unpublished chapter from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man):
“You know what Aquinas says: The three things requisite for beauty are, integrity, a wholeness, symmetry and radiance.”
theliterarylink.com/joyce.html
I like that last quality in particular – “radiance” – and it reminded of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s insight that, “There is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful.”
Emerson had penned his own ideas about “Beauty” in the eponymous section of his essay “Nature”:
emersoncentral.com/beauty.htm
The Sense of Beauty by George Santayana (20th century American philosopher who was born in Spain):
books.google.com/books/about/The_Sense_of_Beauty.html?id=uauHVClZEd4C
There also is a thought-provoking commentary by James Joyce, regarding the aesthetics of Aquinas. He writes, in “Stephen Hero” (an unpublished chapter from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man):
“You know what Aquinas says: The three things requisite for beauty are, integrity, a wholeness, symmetry and radiance.”
theliterarylink.com/joyce.html
I like that last quality in particular – “radiance” – and it reminded of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s insight that, “There is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful.”
Emerson had penned his own ideas about “Beauty” in the eponymous section of his essay “Nature”:
emersoncentral.com/beauty.htm
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