European Aesthetics

A Critical Introduction from Kant to Derrida

Robert Wicks

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780740775
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Aesthetics in Philosophy

The only book to cover the evolution of one of the most important areas of philosophy

The birth of the Enlightenment heralded a new reverence for the power of reason. But as science flourished in Europe, violence and brutality did not abate. In the French Revolution, thousands were guillotined and the death toll was vast. Philosophers asked whether we had become dehumanised by rationality and abstract political theory. Did art and literature provide a way to rediscover our soul and our compassion? Or could art be corrupted just as easily, used as propaganda to justify abhorrent acts?

 

In this masterful survey of European aesthetics over the last two hundred years, philosopher Robert L. Wicks argues that it is this tension between creativity and rationality that has characterised debate in the subject. Presenting the theories of sixteen seminal thinkers, including Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, and Derrida, European Aesthetics shows how each philosopher’s theory of art was motivated by broader topics in their thought, concerning who we are and what a good society should resemble.

 

With colour photographs and written in a lively but objective tone, Wicks analyses important pieces of art, makes critical comparisons between thinkers, and offers a bold conclusion on our contemporary aesthetic situation. In an internet age, where we are presented with endless opportunity, but also startling existential questions, this is the definitive account of the evolution of continental thought in this hugely relevant and exciting area of philosophy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Contents
• Plates
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: Art and the Disillusionment in Reason
• Part I: 1790–1900
• 1. The Beauty of Universal Agreement
• 2. The Beauty of Moral Cultivation
• 3. The Beauty of Metaphysical Truth
• 4. The Art of Social Revolution
• 5. The Art of Transcendent Peace
• 6. The Art of Supreme Health
• 7. The Art of Subjective Inwardness
• 8. The Art of Unconscious Desire
• Part II: 1900–1980
• 9. The Art of Anti-Fascist Aesthetics
• 10. The Art of Atonal Autonomy
• 11. The Art of Poetically Disclosing Truth
• 12. The Art of Interpretation
• 13. The Art of Past Appearances
• 14. The Art of Self-Discipline
• 15. The Art of Free Interpretation
• 16. The Art of the Time Image
• Conclusion: The Arts of Trust and Social Criticism
• Further Reading
• Bibliography
• Index of Names
• Index of Subjects