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Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of art, beauty, and taste. It doesn’t just consider traditional artistic experiences such as artworks in a museum or an opera performance, but also everyday experiences. Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction considers both Western and non-Western aesthetic traditions, and explores why it is sometimes misunderstood or considered to be too elitist—by artists, musicians, and even philosophers. The scope of aesthetics extends far wider than that of art, high or low, including much of what we care about in life. If an experience is worth having for you, it thereby becomes the subject of aesthetics.Less

Beauty: A Very Short Introduction explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object — either in art, in nature, or the human form — beautiful. It strongly refutes the notion that judgements of beauty are purely subjective and relative, and that we can learn little from art criticism and study. Arguing that our experience of beauty is rationally founded, and that beauty is a real and universal value, this VSI shows how our sense of beauty has an indispensable part to play in the way we shape our world.Less