Hegel on Beauty [Paperback]

While the current philosophical debate surrounding Hegels aesthetics focuses heavily on the philosophers controversial end of art thesis, its participants rarely give attention to Hegels ideas on the nature of beauty and its relation to art. This study seeks to remedy this oversight by placing Hegels views on beauty front and center. Peters asks us to rethink the common assumption that Hegelian beauty is exclusive to art and argues that for Hegel beauty, like art, is subject to historical development. Her careful analysis of Hegels notion of beauty not only has crucial implications for our understanding of the end of art and Hegels aesthetics in general, but also sheds light on other fields of Hegels philosophy, in particular his anthropology and aspects of his ethical thought.

Introduction  1. The Anthropological Roots of Beauty  2. Hegel on Beauty, Nature and Art: Towards a Novel Interpretation  3. The Value of Beauty, Aesthetic Experience and the Aesthetic Human Ideal  4. The Beautiful Character and its Limits  5. Beyond Beauty: The Pain of Inner Division  6. Modern Beauty

Julia Peters' intelligent and interesting book & adds a vital new dimension to the debate. -- Andrew Bowie, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Peterss interpretation is presented with great clarity and care and admirably combines the virtues of comprehensiveness and concision. In her efforts to unearth the key elements of the Hegelian definition of beauty and open new avenues for assessing beautys relevance for art, she has made a significant contribution to the discussion. -- Brent Kalar, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

Julia Petersis Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. She specializes in Kant and German Idealism and has lós