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Aesthetic Understanding (Carthage Reprint)

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Roger Scruton is one of the truely inspired philosophers of our time. His breadth of learning is indeed staggering, and his ability to comment on a wide range of "human artifacts", (music, philosophy, politics) with humility and insight is as breathtaking as it is illuminating. This work on Aethetics spans the full range of what we (should?) consider humanity's attmpt to objectify its inner life in outward forms that give those less talanted, ideas and contexts to accomodate their highest aspirations. His work is among the best that rebuts the modern view that all such things are irredemiably "subjective" - a characterizaation that robs great works of art of their universal appeal and applicability, as well as their ability to lift us, however momentarily, above what Hegel called this life ("the highway of dispair") so that we can glimpse the finer aspects of our nature. Roger Scruton is to be congratulated for giving us hope that the Aesthetic spirit in humanity can triumph over the the mundane.

Scruton's presentation of true conservatism elsewhere is a marvelous apologetic for the worldview; this collection of essays treats various issues within art and its relation to society in the light of that worldview. To get the most out of this, one should read Sruton's thoughts on conservatism, but this book will still challenge you if you've not done so. It's recommended for those who consider themselves true consumers and producers of art for society - and don't let Scruton's conservatism scare you away from reading this. He will challenge you, and he might even get you to agree with him.