Beauty
The primary aim of this page of resources is to support the course Beauty: its pleasures and principles (PHIL2029) and But Is It Art? A Philosophical Investigation (PHIL2051) offered by the Discipline of Philosophy at the University of Adelaide. Information about the courses, including contact hours, eligibility and pre-requisites, is available in the Philosophy Handbook.
Enquiries about enrolling in the Beauty course may be directed to the course coordinator: Dr Jenny McMahon (e-mail jenny.mcmahon@adelaide.edu.au).
Definitions
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- A comprehensive definition, followed by sections on the philosophy and history of aesthetics, by G. Gietmann. Includes a list of further reading. From the 1907 edition.
- Artlex Art
Dictionary
- A short definition with illustrative quotes and a list of links to aesthetics sites.
- Philosophical
Dictionary
- A short definition with a good list of recommended reading. From Garth Kemerling's Philosophy pages website.
Major resources
- The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- A very comprehensive entry on Aesthetics, arranged under headings such as: Aesthetic concepts; Aesthetic value; Aesthetic attitudes; Definitions of art; Expression, and Representation. At the end of the text you'll find an excellent bibliography: Suggestions for Further Reading.
This entry was written by Barry Hartley Slater, Department of Philosophy, University of Western Australia.
- Aesthetics: Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy online
- A long article by Malcolm Budd, Professor of Philosophy at University College London, with lots of internal links to other relevant parts of the Routledge Encyclopedia.
- Feminist aesthetics
- Contains information under headings such as Aesthetic theory; Art in general; History of women artists; Architecture; Dance; Film; Music; Painting and sculpture; Performance art, and Theatre. There's also a huge bibliography and a list of links to individual feminists.
Hosted by the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture at Virginia Tech University, - Asthetics: Philosophy research base
- The Aesthetics section of the Philosophy research base provides a long list of links to online resources, and also lists books on the subject of aesthetics.
- American Transcendentalism Web: Philosophy of writing and aesthetics
- 'Aesthetics is defined by Random House as "having a sense of the beautiful." This can certainly be said of such Transcendental writers as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both writers were constantly seeking beauty, not only in terms of nature, but also in terms of the individual spirit. While aesthetics can refer to any sense of beauty, it is often used in terms of literature. How does a piece work aesthetically? How does it look or how is it shaped and/or crafted?
Search engines
To dig out specific information on aesthetics topics from the mass of material available on the web, you'll need to use a search engine. have a look at my search the web for philosophy page.
There are also specialised search engines with specific aesthetics starting points. Try these:
- Open Directory
Project
- Dominion web
Organisations
- American society for Aesthetics: Aesthetics on-line
- Contains articles & reviews, bibliographies, teaching resources, conference reports, etc.
- International Association of Empirical Aesthetics
- The International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, founded in 1965, is open to all who are interested in empirical studies of aesthetics and of the arts, literature, and music. Most members are anthropologists, psychologists, semioticians, and sociologists, however, a number are practising artists, humanistic scholars, and philosophers who have an interest in empirical studies of the arts.
- British Society of Aesthetics
- Legend has it that the British Society of Aesthetics (BSA) was founded in 1960 so that Herbert Read could lead a delegation of British aestheticians to the International Congress on Aesthetics being held in Athens that year. Its aim is to promote study, research and discussion of the fine arts and related types of experience from a philosophical, psychological, sociological, historical, critical and educational standpoint.
- Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics
- The Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics encourages approaches to all art forms from philosophical, psychological, sociological, scientific, historical and/or educational standpoints. While based in Sydney, its membership is open to those interested from all states in Australia as well as overseas. The society sponsors evening seminars throughout the year, convenes conferences twice yearly, and publishes the journal Literature and Aesthetics (two issues per year).
- International Association for Aesthetics
- The main aim of the IAA is to give institutional recognition to aesthetics as a field of humanistic knowledge, to encourage and promote inquiry into aesthetics, and to disseminate its findings. The IAA does this by publishing the IAA Newsletter (received free of charge by its members), an IAA Yearbook (in 2000 volume no. 4 appeared) and organizing international congresses: the last three being those in Madrid (1992), Lahti (1995) and Ljubljana (1998), (Tokyo 2001). In 2004 the congress will be in Rio de Janeiro.
Of interest to all scholars in philosophical or other kinds of aesthetics and in related areas such as art history, comparative literature, musicology, visual arts, cultural studies.
Journals
- British journal of aesthetics
- Published by the British Society of Aesthetics. The Library has online access to all issues and also has vol. 1-44 (1960-2005) in paper format.
The Society also publishes an online journal called Postgraduate journal of aesthetics. The aim of the journal is to offer postgraduates interested in aesthetics a space not only to exchange ideas, but also to foster a resource that will promote high quality essays relevant to postgrad's interests. The journal will be published three times annually, in April, August and December. Essays are invited from postgraduate students on any topic in aesthetics. The philosophical level of essays should be such to encourage serious and focused academic thought at a level appropriate to reflect the postgraduate level of study
- Contemporary aesthetics
- An international, interdisciplinary, online journal of contemporary theory, research, and application in aesthetics. Free access.
- Journal of aesthetics and art criticism
- Publishes current research articles, symposia, special issues, and timely reviews of books in aesthetics and the arts. The 'arts' are taken to include not only the traditional forms such as music, literature, landscape architecture, dance, painting, architecture, sculpture, and other visual arts, but also more recent additions including photography, film, earthworks, performance and conceptual art, the crafts and decorative arts, contemporary technical innovations, and other cultural practices, including work and activities in the field of popular culture.
The Library has online access to all issues and also has vol. 1-61 (1941-2003) in paper format.
- Canadian aesthetics journal
- Journal of the Canadian Society for Aesthetics. Free online access from Volume 1, Spring/Printemps 1996 onwards.
- Journal of aesthetics and protest
- "The Journal of aesthetics and protest flies in the airs of the present, gathering up words like sticks shaking in the breeze. The journal sits at a discursive juncture between art and (often anarchist) activism with the knowledge that a knowledge and discourse are one tool to change the world.
The Journal, aware of the possibilities of the boundless moment, searches for ways to think through the cultural and political ramifications of representation. In word and aspiration, The Journal dreams toward a world that differs from a celebration of the choice already made in the sphere of production, and the consummate result of that choice."
Free online access from volume 1, issue 1 (August 2003).
- Literature and aesthetics
- Literature and aesthetics, edited by Eugenio Benitez and William Christie, is the journal of the Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics. It contains fully refereed scholarly articles on the arts from a wide range of viewpoints, as well as poetry, black and white art, short stories and book reviews. Literature and Aesthetics reflects the vigour and creativity of contemporary Australian scholarly and artistic practice, and contains articles of interest from leading international scholars and researches in the arts and humanities.
The Library has from vol.13, no.2, December 2003 onwards.
- Res: journal of anthropology and comparative aesthetics
- Res is a journal of anthropology and comparative aesthetics dedicated to the study of the object, in particular cult and belief objects and objects of art. The journal brings together, in an anthropological perspective, contributions by philosophers, art historians, archaeologists, critics, linguists, architects, artists, and others. Its field of inquiry is open to all cultures, regions, and historical periods.
Res also seeks to make available textual and iconographic documents of importance for the history and theory of the arts. The journal is a joint publication of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Harvard Art Museum.
The Library has online access to all volumes from Number 1, 1981 onwards. We also have paper copies from Number 1 to 55/56 (1981-2009).
Philosophers and aesthetics
- Philosophers, Artists and Critics on Art
- A clickable list leading to succinct articles on individuals such as Aristotle, Clive Bell and so on. Not all the names on the list have yet been covered - obviously this is a very useful work in progress.
- Kant's Aesthetics
- An analysis by Dr. Douglas Burnham in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Includes a bibliography.
- Hume's Aesthetics
- Analysis and extensive bibliography by Ted Gracyk. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- John
Dewey and Aesthetics
- An article on John Dewey by Richard Field from The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Aesthetics is covered in Section 5.
Reference works in the Barr Smith Library
To find printed reference works on aesthetics use the Library Catalogue and search for Aesthetics--Encyclopedias as a Subject Heading.
I've found the most useful reference works are:
- Encyclopedia of aesthetics
- This four-volume encyclopedia is the first large-scale comprehensive English-language reference on aesthetics and is destined to be a classic in the field. Drawing from experts in the areas of philosophy, art, history, psychology, feminist theory, legal theory, and many more, the encyclopedia presents 600 signed essays alphabetically arranged. Most entries include a headnote clarifying the topic. Comprehensive coverage includes key figures, concepts, periods, theories, and movements in the history of aesthetics.
Edited by Michael Kelly and published by Oxford University Press in 1998.
Location: Barr Smith Library Reference collection [Level 2 North] Call number: 111.8503 K2978e
- A companion to aesthetics
- 2nd edition, edited by Stephen Davies and others. Malden, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
- The Routledge companion to aesthetics
- Individual articles on topics such as the History of aesthetics and Aesthetic theory, each with references and suggestions for further reading. Contains bibliographical references and a good index.
Edited by Berys Gaut and Dominic McIver Lopes. 2nd edition. London, Routledge, 2005.
Location: Barr Smith Reference collection Call Number: 111.85 G275r.2
Blogs and Newsgroups
- NEW.YORK ART.CRIT
- "This may look like a blog, but I like to think of it as part of a hyperbook about art. You can reach longer essays on hundreds of exhibitions and books, with over 4,500 links interweaving them. Once you start clicking, you could come out anywhere.
I take artists and exhibitions that got me thinking and not just judging, from the past to art's uncertain future. I am at my best when I let art (and its history) collide with postmodern ideas. I hope to translate both into discoveries for myself and many others.
John Haber is a writer and editor living in New York City."
- Aesthetics Lists
- A moderated email list maintained by the American Society for Aesthetics for broadcasting news items of interest to scholars and students of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. These may include calls for papers, conference announcements, new book announcements, and the like. Subcribers to the list may submit a news item for moderation by sending it to news@aesthetics-online.org.
- Aesthetics-L
- Aesthetics-L is a mailing list for the exchange of ideas and information about aesthetics and philosophy of art. Many kinds of contribution are welcome: discussions of issues in aesthetics, requests for information, calls for papers, conference announcements, job postings, aesthetics news, etc. The list also broadcasts news from the American Society for Aesthetics.
To subscribe to Aesthetics-L please use the web form at IU Listserv.
This page was created by Marie-Louise Krohn in March 2004, while she was working at the Barr Smith Library as part of her Library and Information studies program at the Fachhochschule Köln (University of Applied Sciences, Cologne). As part of my Philosophy resources website, I maintain the page.
Alan Keig
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