Introduction to Aesthetics: An Analytic Approach

by George Dickie

Introduction to An Analytic Approach traces aesthetics from its ancient beginnings through the changes it underwent in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and the first half of the twentieth century. The first half of the book traces the history of the two organized notions of
aesthetics-the theory of beauty and the imitation theory of art-and describes the transformations they went through from ancient Greek times until the 1950s. The responses of the cultural theories in the 1960s to these earlier developments are then discussed in detail. Four miscellaneous
topics-intentionalistic criticism, symbolism, metaphor, and expression-are also addressed. Finally, five traditional art evaluational theories are presented, and the author constructs an evaluational theory of his own by building on ideas drawn from the work of Monroe Beardsley and Nelson Goodman.
Written by one of the foremost philosophers of aesthetics, this engaging text is ideal for undergraduate courses in the philosophy of art and aesthetics, and is also suitable for graduate seminars and courses in these areas. It offers students both a historical introduction to and the latest work
on theories of art, theories of the experience of art, and theories of art evaluation.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 1996

About the author

George Dickie is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at University of Illinois at Chicago. His specialities include aesthetics, philosophy of art and Eighteenth Century theories of taste.

Reviews

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done, and exactly what the title suggests. The history of aesthetics seen from this perspective is rather surprising for someone like myself, but it's exactly what I would expect from an 'analytic approach' to anything: Plato, Aristotle, a few English people you've never heard of from the 18th century; Kant (who was wrong, of course, as all the Germans are (we won't even mention the French)); a few Americans from the twentieth century. The closer to the present Dickie gets, the better he is. He's particularly good on himself.