This book is designed for anyone who is interested in art and curious about theories of art. It does not presuppose any knowledge of philosophy or history of ideas or art history. Nor does it assume any greater familiarity with art than anyone has with at least one of the arts, whether music, dance, theater, cinema, or literature. The book progresses in complexity and sophistication as the student's understanding develops chapter by chapter. The first chapter is aimed at students just entering college or university, while by Chapter Five the student is invited to engage in several contemporary philosophical debates surrounding modern art.

Philosophy of Art is built on the assumption that there exists an active interchange between philosophical theories about art, art criticism, art history and the history of taste and ideas generally, and that this is by far the best way to introduce students to art theory. The material presented here has grown out of many years of teaching a course for art majors on theories of art. I have found that these students are extremely interested in theories of art so long as they can be shown to have some real historical impact on the development of art itself. In order to show the relation of theory to practice in art, far more space and attention is devoted in this book to art illustrations than in a typical aesthetics textbook. This book is therefore a unique blend of art and philosophy and for that reason is suitable both for the beginning art appreciation or humanities course and the general introduction to aesthetics.

The distinctive feature of Philosophy of Art lies in its stress on the interrelations between theories of art and the actual practice of art. Throughout the book, examples are offered of art critics formulating theories of art in order to defend particular kinds of new art, which in turn encourages the acceptance and development of the new art form. At the same time, artists sometimes become obsessed with a particular theory of art that they seek to implement in their art practice. Because of this theory-practice orientation, philosophical theories are discussed only where they have a direct and obvious bearing on the art world, and where they express widespread beliefs about art (e.g., the ideal of a neutral realism). These theories are explored primarily by analyzing ordinary beliefs about art; philosophical expressions of these beliefs are mentioned only as attempts to clarify and articulate the widespread attitudes toward art, and particular philosophers are discussed only where their influence on the art world is considerable.

As a result of this orientation, philosophy of art emerges in this book with a much more integrated focus than the piece-meal approach current in most English-speaking aesthetics today. This is based partly on the belief that while a collection of many different philosophical problems surrounding art typifies much of the work going on in aesthetics today, it is nonetheless much more difficult for the beginning student to follow than an organized presentation round a central theme. In this book this central theme is the problem of reconciling artistic autonomy with aesthetic relevance. In Chapter One this problem is introduced as the central problem in modern reflections of art, and is exemplified in Chapters Two, Three, and Four in each of the three major facets of the art experience -- the reality represented in artworks, the emotions expressed therein, and the structure of the artworks themselves. These four chapters comprise the substance of the book, and might well complete the material to be covered in a single quarter or semester course. The last chapter attempts to apply the philosophical expertise and outlook generated from the earlier portion of the book to an examination of five hotly contested issues in contemporary aesthetics -- the concept of a work of art, questions of intention, meaning and truth in art, and the validity of art criticism. This chapter is for the more advanced, interested or curious student, and might be set aside for development in a special term project.

Finally, to facilitate its use in the undergraduate classroom, textual references are made wherever possible to several widely used anthologies on aesthetics. The instructor may wish to supplement this text with one of these books of readings, either as a second text or simply placed on the reserve shelf of the library.

I would like to thank all my students in my Philosophy of Art class over the years who have helped to shape this book.