Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

'Place in garden, lawn, to beautify landscape.’ When Don Featherstone’s plastic pink flamingos were first advertised in the 1957 Sears catalogue, these were the instructions. The flamingos are placed on the cover of this book for another reason: to start us asking questions. That’s where philosophy always begins. Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art is written to introduce students to a broad array of questions that have occupied philosophers since antiquity, and which continue to bother us today—questions like: - Is there something special about something’s being art? Can a mass-produced plastic bird have that special something? - If someone likes plastic pink flamingos, does that mean they have bad taste? Is bad taste a bad thing? - Do Featherstone’s pink flamingos mean anything? If so, does that depend on what Featherstone meant in designing them? Each chapter opens using a real world example — such as Marcel Duchamp’s signed urinal, The Exorcist, and the ugliest animal in the world — to introduce and illustrate the issues under discussion. These case studies serve as touchstones throughout the chapter, keeping the concepts grounded and relatable. With its trademark conversational style, clear explanations, and wealth of supporting features, Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art is the ideal introduction to the major problems, issues, and debates in the field. Now expanded and revised for its second edition, Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art is designed to give readers the background and the tools necessary to begin asking and answering the most intriguing questions about art and beauty, even when those questions are about pink plastic flamingos.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: an Extremely Brief History 1. Defining Art 2. The Ontology of Art 3. Interpretation and Intention 4. Aesthetic Properties and Evaluation 5. Emotions and the Arts 6. Art and Morality 7. Aesthetics Without Art Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Darren Hudson Hick is Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University, USA.

Review :
Introducing Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art explores the classic questions in the philosophy of art through provocative artworks. Written in a clear and fresh style, this comprehensive textbook provides an accessible and engaging entry point for students to the central philosophical issues in the arts. An excellent resource for students and academics alike. This is one of the best introductions to Philosophy of Art around. Hudson Hick judges the current vibe among students exceptionally well. Recent and contemporary examples of art, literature, music and film, prompt the kind of questions that lead naturally to the key concepts and theories presented in this book. Drawing mostly from analytic aesthetics, as well as continental philosophy on interpretation, the book provides a genuine opportunity to develop understanding of art and its reception. And while the level at which the text is pitched is appropriate for beginners, the dialectic occasions the kind of critical debate that will also engage the more advanced student. A timely new feature of this edition is the chapter on diversity which flags the burgeoning material on perspectivism. The final chapter completes the promise of the title, raising questions pertinent to the aesthetics of nature. Darren Hudson Hick’s Introduction to Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art offers a fresh, engaging take on both central and historically neglected topics in aesthetics. Hick presents complex debates in an accessible way and brings thinkers from different traditions and historical moments seamlessly into conversation. Examples from a wide variety of art forms keep the discussion lively while drawing out the implications of the theories on offer.