Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ancient aesthetics -- Medieval and Renaissance aesthetics -- Early modern aesthetics -- Modern aesthetics -- Contemporary aesthetics -- Index.

This title provides teachers and students with a new perspective on the history and present of aesthetic theory. As such, it contains a comprehensive survey of the field, with selections drawn from ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary sources. It provides readers with a radically new perspective on the genesis and development of aesthetic theory by including an expanded section on early modern aesthetics. The Anthology likewise pays special attention to the interdisciplinary nature of aesthetics, and brings texts from thinkers and critics such as Novalis, Baudelaire, and Valery into dialogue with philosophical aesthetics proper, in order to displace the priority traditionally accorded to the latter sources.