Values of Beauty: Historical Essays in Aesthetics

Values of Beauty covers major ideas and figures in the history of aesthetics, from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. All of the essays emphasize the complexity, rather than isolation of our aesthetic experience of both nature and art. They also reveal the interconnection of aesthetic values, such as beauty and sublimity, as well as prudential and moral values. Paul Guyer emphasizes the idea of the freedom of the imagination as the key to both artistic creation and aesthetic experience.