The Sense of BeautyTransaction Publishers, 1 jan 2002 - 275 pagina's From antiquity to the present, many have written on the subject of beauty, but precious few have done so with the capacity themselves to write beautifully. "The Sense of Beauty is "that rare exception. This remarkable early work of the great American philosopher, George Santayana, features a quality of prose that is as wondrous as what he had to say. Indeed, his summation remains a flawless classical statement. "Beauty seems to be the clearest manifestation of perfection, and the best evidence of its possibility. If perfection is, as it should be, the ultimate justification of being, we may understand the ground of the moral dignity of beauty. Be'auty is a pledge of the possible conformity between the soul and nature, and consequently a ground of faith in the supremacy of the good." The editor of this new edition, John McGormick, reminds us that "The Sense of Beauty is "the first work in aesthetics written in the United States. Santayana was versed in the history of his subject, from Plato and Aristotle to Schopenhauer and Taine in the nineteenth century. Santayana took as his task a complete rethinking of the idea that beauty is embedded in objects. Rather beauty is an emotion, a value, and a sense of the good. In this, aesthetics was unlike ethics: not a correction of evil or pursuit of the virtuous. Rather it is a pleasure that resides in the sense of self. The work is divided into chapters on the materials of beauty, form and expression. A good many of Santayana's later works are presaged by this early effort. And this volume also anticipates the development of art as a movement as well as a value apart from other aspects of life. The work is written without posturing, without hectoring. Santayana is nonetheless able to give expression to strong views. His preferences are made perfectly plain. Perhaps the key is a powerful belief that beauty is an adornment not a material necessity. But that does mean art is trivial. Quite the contrary, the good life is precisely the extent to which such "adornments" as painting, poetry or music come to define the lives of individuals and civilizations alike. This is, in short, a major work that can still inform and move us a century after its first composition. |
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... . All human functions may contribute to the sense of beauty § 13. The influence of the passion of love § 14. Social instincts and their æsthetic influence § 15. The lower senses 53 56 62 65 § 16. Sound . § 17. Colour PAGE 68 72.
... instinct " that it draws two people together , and that it is one of " the dearest employments of life to select and pursue a com- panion , and joins to possession the keenest plea- sure , to rivalry the fiercest rage , and to solitude ...
... instinct in man and of the diversity of its manifestations in history . The third method in ethics and æsthetics is psychological , as the other two are respectively didactic and historical . It deals with moral and æsthetic judgments ...
... instincts , it embodies conscience and utters our inmost hopes . Platonic philosophers have therefore a natural authority , as standing on heights to which the vulgar cannot attain , but to which they naturally and half - consciously ...
... useful reactions upon their environment . An instinct of self - preservation would have been de- veloped , dangers would have been shunned with- out being feared , and injuries revenged without being felt 16 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY.
Inhoudsopgave
XL | 146 |
XLI | 152 |
XLII | 155 |
XLIII | 157 |
XLIV | 160 |
XLV | 163 |
XLVI | 167 |
XLVII | 171 |
XII | 40 |
XIII | 44 |
XIV | 49 |
XV | 53 |
XVI | 56 |
XVII | 62 |
XVIII | 65 |
XX | 68 |
XXI | 72 |
XXII | 76 |
XXIII | 82 |
XXIV | 85 |
XXV | 88 |
XXVI | 91 |
XXVII | 95 |
XXVIII | 97 |
XXIX | 100 |
XXX | 106 |
XXXI | 110 |
XXXII | 112 |
XXXIII | 116 |
XXXIV | 121 |
XXXV | 126 |
XXXVI | 131 |
XXXVII | 133 |
XXXVIII | 138 |
XXXIX | 142 |
Overige edities - Alles bekijken
The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory George Santayana Volledige weergave - 1896 |
The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outline of Aesthetic Theory George Santayana Gedeeltelijke weergave - 1955 |