Natural Beauty: A Theory of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts

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Broadview Press, Aug 28, 2007 - Philosophy - 273 pages

Natural Beauty was selected for the Choice Outstanding Academic Title list for 2008!

Natural Beauty presents a bold new philosophical account of the principles involved in making aesthetic judgments about natural objects. It surveys historical and modern accounts of natural beauty and weaves elements derived from those accounts into a “syncretic theory” that centers on key features of aesthetic experience—specifically, features that sustain and reward attention. In this way, Moore’s theory sets itself apart from both the purely cognitive and the purely emotive approaches that have dominated natural aesthetics until now. Natural Beauty shows why aesthetic appreciation of works of art and aesthetic appreciation of nature can be mutually reinforcing; that is, how they are cooperative rather than rival enterprises. Moore also makes a compelling case for how and why the experience of natural beauty can contribute to the larger project of living a good life.

 

Contents

Preface
7
Introduction
11
CHAPTER 1 Appreciating Nature as Natural
17
CHAPTER 2 Conceptualism and Nonconceptualism
27
Early Developments
39
Modern Developments
65
CHAPTER 5 Aesthetic Experience Revisited
91
CHAPTER 6 The Framing Paradox
105
CHAPTER 7 Syncretic RegardPart I
127
CHAPTER 8 Syncretic RegardPart II
161
CHAPTER 9 Patterns of Appreciation and Aesthetic Development
213
CHAPTER 10 Theoretical Implications and Conclusion
239
References
255
Index
261
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About the author (2007)

Ronald Moore is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington.

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