Selected writings on aesthetics [electronic resource] / Johann Gottfried Herder ; translated and edited by Gregory Moore.

ISBN:

9781400827169

Title:

Author:

Herder, Johann Gottfried, 1744-1803.

Personal Author:

Herder, Johann Gottfried, 1744-1803.

Uniform Title:

Works. Selections. English. 2006

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 455 pages)

General Note:

Translated from the German.

Contents:

Is the beauty of the body a herald of the beauty of the soul? -- A monument to Baumgarten -- Critical forest, or reflections on the art and science of the beautiful: first grove, dedicated to Mr. Lessing's Laocoön -- Critical forests: fourth grove, on Riedel's Theory of the beaux arts -- Shakespeare -- The causes of sunken taste among the different peoples in whom it once blossomed -- On the influence of the belles lettres on the higher sciences -- Does painting or music have a greater effect?: a divine colloquy -- On image, poetry, and fable.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Aesthetics.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2006

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
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Summary

A seminal figure in the philosophy of history, culture, and language, Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) also produced some of the most important and original works in the history of aesthetic theory. A student of Kant, he spent much of his life striving to reconcile the opposing poles of Enlightenment thought represented by his early mentors. His ideas influenced Hegel, Schleiermacher, Nietzsche, Dilthey, J. S. Mill, and Goethe.

This book presents most of Herder's important writings on aesthetics, including the main sections of one of his major untranslated works, Kritische Wälder (Critical Forests). These notes, essays, and treatises, the majority of which appear here in English for the first time, show this idiosyncratic thinker both deeply rooted in the controversies of his day and pointing the way to future developments in aesthetics. Chosen to reflect the extent and diversity of Herder's concerns, the texts cover such topics as the psychology and physiology of aesthetic perception, the classification of the arts, taste, Shakespeare, the classical tradition, and the relationship between art and morality.

Few thinkers have reflected so sensitively and productively on the cultural, historical, anthropological, ethical, and theological dimensions of art and the creative process. With this book, the importance of aesthetics to the evolution and texture of Herder's own thought, as well as his profound contribution to that discipline, comes fully into view.

Author Notes

Gregory Moore is Lecturer in German at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of Nietzsche, Biology and Metaphor , and is coeditor of Nietzsche and Science .

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

These excellent translations make some of Herder's most original and important contributions to aesthetics available to English readers for the first time. Of the works in this volume, only Herder's "Shakespeare" has appeared before in English. The translator's introduction gives a brief account of the birth of aesthetics as a science in 18th-century Germany, and helpfully situates Herder's writings with respect to the most important figures of that period: Baumgarten, Lessing, Hamann, and Kant. This volume will be of special interest to students of 18th-century aesthetics, as the bulk of the translation (240 pages; two-thirds of the total) is devoted to the first and fourth parts of Herder's Critical Forests. The first part engages in detail with Lessing's Laocoon, and the fourth part attacks two minor contemporaries, Riedel and Klotz. However, the significance of both discussions transcends their immediate context and should interest students of aesthetics more generally. Moreover, a growing interest in Herder's relation to Kant and to the later idealists and Romantics will make this volume relevant to students of 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy in general. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. A. N. Bunch Washington State University

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Note on the Texts	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Is the Beauty of the Body a Herald of the Beauty of the Soul?	p. 31
A Monument to Baumgarten	p. 41
Critical Forests, or Reflections on the Art and Science of the Beautiful: First Grove, Dedicated to Mr. Lessing's Laocoön	p. 51
Critical Forests: Fourth Grove, On Riedel's Theory of the Beaux Arts	p. 177
Shakespeare	p. 291
The Causes of Sunken Taste among the Different Peoples in Whom It Once Blossomed	p. 308
On the Influence of the Belles Lettres on the Higher Sciences	p. 335
Does Painting or Music Have a Greater Effect?
A Divine Colloquy	p. 347
On Image, Poetry, and Fable	p. 357
Editor's Notes	p. 383
Bibliography	p. 445
Index	p. 449

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Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents