History of the Six Major Aesthetic Concepts in the West

Author: Tadeusz Tatarkiewicz
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The six major concepts of "art," "beauty," "form," "creativity," "imitation," and "aesthetic experience" are frequently used in aesthetic research to such an extent that we are even too busy to examine how these concepts have undergone thrilling developments and evolutions over the past two thousand years. In this book, A History of Six Major Aesthetic Concepts in the West, the author, with his extensive expertise in the history of aesthetics, uses rich materials and detailed statements to open up the historical space of these six concepts from a theoretical perspective. He transforms these indifferent concepts into living entities. The narrative of A History of Six Major Aesthetic Concepts in the West combines historical analysis with theoretical discussion, with problem discussions as the warp and historical material analysis as the weft. Its unique structure and innovative writing style have been praised as "an immortal history of aesthetics." After its initial release in Poland, the book was translated and published in different languages in more than ten countries and regions around the world, causing a huge response. Tadeusz Tatarkiewicz "not only guides us but also, midway through the journey, uses his accumulated wisdom to explain the constellations in the sky, the corals at the bottom of the sea, and many stories that have happened in this ocean."—Taiwanese poet Cee Young Lee
This monumental work has achieved a unique status due to its comprehensive interpretation of the development of aesthetics and the excellence of art. Such an ambitious attempt has been rare in this century. The author is an authority in the history of philosophy, the history of art, art criticism, and classical scholarship, and he lays bare the development of European aesthetics. The publication of the English edition of this book will enable us to conduct highly meaningful research for a very long time. A History of Six Major Aesthetic Concepts in the West combines historical analysis with theoretical discussion, with problem discussions as the warp and historical material analysis as the weft. Its unique structure and innovative writing style have been praised as "an immortal history of aesthetics." After its initial release in Poland, the book was translated and published in different languages in more than ten countries and regions around the world, causing a huge response. Tadeusz Tatarkiewicz "not only guides us but also, midway through the journey, uses his accumulated wisdom to explain the constellations in the sky, the corals at the bottom of the sea, and many stories that have happened in this ocean."