Force: A Fundamental Concept of Aesthetic Anthropology

The book aims at a new exposition of the basic idea of modern aesthetics by way of a reconstruction of its genesis in the 18th century, between Baumgarten's Aesthetics and Kant's Critique of Judgment. The claim is that the historical invention of aesthetics was not about expanding the range of legitimate objects of philosophical inquiry--these objects all existed before aesthetics. Rather, aesthetics, by introducing the category of the "aesthetic," fundamentally redefined these objects. But most importantly, the reconstruction of the historical genesis of aesthetics shows that the introduction of the category of the "aesthetic" required nothing less than a transformation of the fundamental terms of philosophy. What begins in--or as--aesthetics is modern philosophy.

Author: Christoph Menke
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Published: 12/10/2012
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780823249732

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2013

About the Author

Christoph Menke is Professor of Philosophy at the Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt am Main. Among his previous appointments has been a stint at the New School.

Gerrit Jackson studied literature, philosophy, and art history in Berlin and New York. He is a translator and lives in Berlin.