Arguing about Art: Topics In Contemporary Philosophical Debates

Arguing About Art is an anthology which covers twelve topics or debates in the philosophy of art. Each chapter contains two or more articles on the topic, preceded by a short introduction to the topic and followed by a select bibliography. The book is ideal for engaging students in the controversies and puzzles that make the field of aesthetics so interesting. Some of the topics have only recently emerged (such as colorizing movies, or feminist aesthetics); others have been debated for centuries (such as the pleasures of tragedy or the relationship of art and truth). A wide range of art forms (music, photography, fiction, etc.) are covered, as is the topic of appreciating nature. While the book has ample material to stand-alone, its low price makes it attractive as a supplement to most anthologies that take an historical approach to aesthetics (such as Neill & Ridley's The Philosophy of Art). The two books combined allow for a course that balances the historical approach with a problems-based or topical approach to the philosophy of art.