
Aesthetic Knowledge
Jon Robson(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Will be published approx. on 4. December 2025
Book
Hardback
76 pages
978-1-009-57177-7 (ISBN)
Description
How do we arrive at aesthetic knowledge? This might seem an odd question for philosophers to ask. Some will take its answer to be obvious: we learn about the aesthetic qualities of paintings by looking at them, of musical works by listening to them, and so on. Others will take the question to be misguided, how can there be aesthetic knowledge when aesthetics is merely 'a matter of taste'? Finally, aesthetic knowledge itself might seem singularly unimportant. We don't engage with beautiful artworks to learn that they're beautiful but, rather, to appreciate that beauty. This Element argues that each of these objections is misplaced. Aesthetic knowledge is both valuable and attainable, but canonical philosophical (and folk) views of how we attain it are mistaken. The Element surveys some recent arguments against the reliability of aesthetic perception and in favour of other, more social, sources of aesthetic knowledge.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
275 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-009-57177-7 (9781009571777)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Jon Robson
Aesthetic Knowledge
Book
approx. 12/2025
Cambridge University Press
€26.40
Not yet published
Person
Content
1. Some orthodoxies of aesthetic knowledge; 2. The problems of aesthetic perception; 3. Disputing about taste; 4. Aesthetic knowledge: how to get it and why you want it; References.