Classics in Western Philosophy of Art

In this synthetic introduction to the history of the philosophy of art, Noël Carroll elucidates and analyzes selected writings on art by Plato, Aristotle, Hutcheson, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, and Bell. Carroll’s narrative tracks developments between major positions in philosophy of art, ranging from the idea that art is unavoidably embedded in society to the evolution of the notion that art is autonomous ("art for art’s sake"), thereby setting the stage for continuing debates in the philosophy of art and aesthetics.

Presupposing no prior background, and useful on its own or accompanying the reading of primary works, Classics in Western Philosophy of Art is ideal as a text for introductory undergraduate and graduate courses in philosophy of art and aesthetics, or for anyone interested in learning about the origin of some of our most fundamental conceptions of art in the Western tradition.

Reviews:

"Indispensable turn-by-turn directions for those navigating the ideas of nine philosophers who set the stage for thinking about art and society. Clear and comprehensive, Noël Carroll is the perfect guide to the history of aesthetics."
    —Dominic McIver Lopes, University of British Columbia

"Carroll’s Classics in Western Philosophy of Art is a masterful series of commentaries on nine classical writings on art by philosophers in the Western tradition—learned and penetrating in exegesis, equally penetrating in critique. It’s not just one philosopher after another. Carroll takes note of what later writers say, explicitly or implicitly, about earlier writers, and imagines what those earlier writers might have said in response. He is host to a conversation. How I wish these commentaries had been available when I was still teaching philosophy of art! I would have been spared my own exegetical labors over these often-difficult texts, and my teaching would have been immeasurably improved."
  —Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University

"It's sometimes difficult to know exactly what standard of measurement to use in evaluating a philosophical text the primary purpose of which is to introduce and illuminate other texts. By almost any standard, Noël Carroll's pragmatically titled Classics in Western Philosophy of Art measures up. The latest addition to the author’s impressive roster of publications is a historically-oriented introduction to aesthetics—and more. Carroll deftly guides his readers through the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Hutcheson, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, and Bell, making a powerful case along the way for the enduring legacy of each in the philosophy of art. Carroll's book is a useful, accessible, and rich engagement with the themes and arguments of these classic texts which also initiates a meaningful meta-debate concerning the telos of philosophical aesthetics."
  —Jason Miller, in Journal of Aesthetic Education

"Many of us will remember when, as students, we were attending an introductory course on aesthetics or the philosophy of art. We may have wished for a textbook that would guide us through the major authors and theories in the history of aesthetics. We might have wished for Carroll’s Classics in Western Philosophy of Art."
  —Larissa Berger, in British Journal of Aesthetics

About the Author:

Noël Carroll is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center.