European Aesthetics A Critical Introduction from Kant to Derrida

Inthisseminalstudy,RobertWicksprovidesasweepingsurveyofEuropeanAestheticsoverthelasttwohundredyears.PresentingthetheoriesofsixteenimportantcontinentalthinkersincludingKant,Nietzsche,Freud,andDerrida,thistheonlycomprehensivestudyoftheevolutionofcontinentalthoughtinthiskeyareaofphilosophy.HighlightingEuropeanambivalencetowardsreasonintheaftermathoftheviolenceoftheFrenchRevolution,Wickshowshoweachphilosopherdealswiththetensionbetweentheidealsofscientificrationalismononesideandcreativityandhumaninstinctontheother.Shouldartbeevaluatedobjectivelyintermsofitsformanddimensions,orshouldwevalueitbecauseofhowitmakesusfeel?Withacolourplatesectionandwritteninalivelybutobjectivetone,thisbookwillproveessentialforstudentsinPhilosophy,Art,andEnglishLiterature.,