A History of Aesthetic Classic Reprint Bernard Bosanquet 9781332163588 Books
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Excerpt from A History of Aesthetic
But besides professed students of philosophy, there is a large and increasing public of readers who are genuinely attracted by a fairly clear and connected exposition of any philosophical science the subject matter of which comes home to them, be it Logic or Ethic, Sociology, or the theory of Religion. Such readers are approaching philosophy through the subject-matter that already interests them, instead of approaching the particular subject-matter simply because it is an integral part of philosophy. I confess to cherishing a hope that in spite of the defects which deprive this book of the charm that a more skilful writer might have given to such a subject, many intelligent lovers of beauty will be glad to make acquaintance, through it, with the thoughts of great men upon this important element of the spiritual world.
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A History of Aesthetic Classic Reprint Bernard Bosanquet 9781332163588 Books
This timeless classic reads beautifully across the century and engages any serious thinker in the realm of aesthetical thought. For those who are new to the subject of aesthetics this book should be a primer. A valuable addition to any library for those who love the arts and the art of thinking about the subject. William J. Havlicek PhDProduct details
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A History of Aesthetic Classic Reprint Bernard Bosanquet 9781332163588 Books Reviews
Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923) was an English Idealist philosopher and political theorist, and an influential figure on matters of political and social policy in late 19th and early 20th century Britain.
[NOTE page numbers below refer to a 502-page paperback edition.]
He wrote in the Preface to this 1892 book, “Aesthetic theory is a branch of philosophy, and exists for the sake of knowledge and not as a guide to practice. The present work is, therefore, primarily addressed to those who may find a philosophical interest in understanding the place and value of beauty in the system of human life, as conceived by leading thinkers in different periods of the world’s history… I confess to cherishing a hope that … many intelligent lovers of beauty will be glad to make acquaintance, through it, with the thoughts of great men upon this important element of the spiritual world… My aim has therefore been to exhibit philosophic opinion as only the clear and crystallized form of the aesthetic consciousness or sense of beauty, which is itself determined by conditions that lie deep in the heart of successive ages. I have desired, in fact… to write the history of the aesthetic consciousness.”
In the first chapter, he outlines, “I have given my reasons for treating the history of aesthetic as an account… of the aesthetic consciousness… Secondly, I have explained the necessity which compels aesthetic theory to accept fine art as the main representative of the beautiful… Thirdly, I have propounded … a definition of the beautiful which lends itself to the development of modern out of ancient aesthetic by a natural progression from the abstract to the concrete… And I have attempted to lay down a thorough distinction between the analytic and comparative treatment of beautiful presentations with reference to their common properties…. as progressively recognized in the development of culture, and the psychological inquiry into the nature and differentia of that enjoyment which these presentations produce.” (Pg. 8-9)
He states, “the estimation of beauty by the practical standard of right and wrong…bears witness to the instinctive demand for depth and completeness in art as representing the powers that reveal themselves in that order of the world of which the moral order is one among other significant reflections; and it embodies the conviction that there is a spurious art and beauty, which being not free but subservient to a practical or sensuous end, cease to be objects of aesthetic judgment and become the legitimate prey of moral censure or commendation… The presence of beauty, in a presentation the true interest of which is other than aesthetic, must always be in some degree a fraud.” (Pg. 22)
He acknowledges, “I am aware that I run the risk of being asked whether I mean to deny that there really was a decadence, whether I have forgotten the vulgar and brutal features of Greco-Roman civilization, and whether I imagine that the intellectual darkness, extending to the great individual forms of art, which followed upon the Christian era, was a historical accident unconnected with a moral and intellectual bankruptcy in ancient life.” (Pg. 98)
He suggests, “the faith in a meaning is a great assistance to looking for one; and as a general rule the more a man looks for, the more he will see. Beauty, in short, those ceases to be a datum, and becomes a problem; and in pursuing a fanciful interpretation, the mind will often extract the expressive essence of sensuous forms, with incomparable subtlety.” (Pg. 159)
He asserts, “The actual aesthetic consciousness of the middle age was as a historical fact the most continuous and creative that the world has ever seen. And although for long centuries it was inarticulate in the more intellectually imaginative regions, and accepted theology, perhaps, as the expression of its essential instincts, yet to set this fact down as precluding its claim to rank as an aesthetic consciousness at all is to commit the serious philosophical confusion of identifying the concrete expressive impulse with the reflective aesthetic intention.” (Pg. 167)
He contends, “It may be mere national prejudice, but I believe it to be a well-grounded conviction, which causes me to turn to England for a re-animation of the bond between content and expression. As the true value of German idealism in general philosophy was never understood, till the genius of English naturalists had revolutionized our conception of the organic world, so the spirit of German aesthetic will not be appreciated until the work of its founders shall have been renewed by the direct appreciative sense of English art and criticism.” (Pg. 440) Later, he adds, “In Germany, we observed, the historical led up to the aesthetic synthesis; in England aesthetic insight has had a remarkable influence both on historical research and on economic theory.” (Pg. 454)
In the last chapter, he concludes, “It is impossible to believe that just as the sense of beauty has become deeper and stronger than ever before, the productive capacity of art has received its deathblow. But it is idle to look back, or to deny that if, of the present hostile conditions, there are many that may and must be removed, yet many again are, and must be permanent. The basis of life will always henceforward be intellectual and historical, not naïve and natural, except in the sense of a second nature. No single tradition can ever again enthrall the world from father to son… The soul has won its intellectual liberty, and with it an infinite capacity for making mistakes, and thus it will never surrender. We shall increasingly employ the printing press and the machine. Formative art can never again be the chief instructor of peoples. It is idle to rail against conditions demonstrably inherent in a life that has behind it two thousand active years of art, science, religion, and philosophy.” (Pg. 467-468)
Bosanquet and Idealism are definitely out of the current philosophical “mainstream,” but this book is still of interest to students of aesthetics.
Excellent.
This timeless classic reads beautifully across the century and engages any serious thinker in the realm of aesthetical thought. For those who are new to the subject of aesthetics this book should be a primer. A valuable addition to any library for those who love the arts and the art of thinking about the subject. William J. Havlicek PhD
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