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Diotima's Children: German Aesthetic Rationalism from Leibniz to Lessing

Diotima's Children: German Aesthetic Rationalism from Leibniz to Lessing

by Frederick C . Beiser (Author)

  • New

    Hardcover 2009

    $146.62
Synopsis

Diotima's Children is a re-examination of the rationalist tradition of aesthetics which prevailed in Germany in the late seventeenth and eighteenth century. It is partly an historical survey of the central figures and themes of this tradition But it is also a philosophical defense of some of its leading ideas, viz., that beauty plays an integral role in life, that aesthetic pleasure is the perception of perfection, that aesthetic rules are inevitable and valuable. It shows that the criticisms of Kant and Nietzsche of this tradition are largely unfounded. The rationalist tradition deserves re-examination because it is of great historical significance, marking the beginning of modern aesthetics, art criticism, and art history.

$146.62

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 320
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 29 Oct 2009
ISBN 10: 0199573018
ISBN 13: 9780199573011

Media Reviews
wonderfully lucid, and the arguments of the inividual authors are carefully reconstructed and examined for coherence. * Kai Hammermeister, British Journal for the History of Philosophy *
This book represents a revolution in the historiography of German aesthetics and philosophy, shaped and canonized since Kant and Hegel. However, its provocative statements are simply the result of carefully rereading the long-dismissed pre-Kantian thinkers and of trying to understand them from the perspective of the questions which originally motivated their thinking. The result is the most informative and comprehensive presentation of German aesthetics and philosophy from Leibniz to Kant available today, one that can finally replace Beck's Kant and his Predecessors. * Ursula Goldenbaum, Journal of the History of Philosophy *
Author Bio
Frederick Beiser was educated at Oriel College Oxford (B.A. 1972-74) and Wolfson College Oxford (1975-1981). He has had several major research fellowships: NEH, Guggenheim, Thyssen and Humboldt and has taught at seven US universities: Harvard, Yale, Colorado, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Syracuse. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University.