Beauty 1st Edition

by Roger Scruton (Author)

54 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0199559527

ISBN-10: 019955952X

Why is ISBN important?

Sell yours for a Gift Card
We'll buy it for $1.90
Learn More
Trade in now

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Share <Embed>

Rent

$15.98

Due Date: May 29, 2018 Rental Details

FREE return shipping at the end of the semester.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with rentals.

In Stock. Rented from apex_media , Fulfilled by Amazon

List Price: $19.95 Save: $3.97 (20%)

Free Shipping

Add to Rental Cart

More Buying Choices

4 New from $48.71 19 Used from $22.01 1 Rentals from $15.98

24 offers from $15.98

See All Buying Options

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

"Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane," writes Roger Scruton. "It can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It is never viewed with indifference: beauty demands to be noticed; it speaks to us directly like the voice of an intimate friend."
In a book that is itself beautifully written, renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores this timeless concept, asking what makes an object--either in art, in nature, or the human form--beautiful. This compact volume is filled with insight and Scruton has something interesting and original to say on almost every page. Can there be dangerous beauties, corrupting beauties, and immoral beauties? Perhaps so. The prose of Flaubert, the imagery of Baudelaire, the harmonies of Wagner, Scruton points out, have all been accused of immorality, by those who believe that they paint wickedness in alluring colors. Is it right to say there is more beauty in a classical temple than a concrete office block, more beauty in a Rembrandt than in an Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can? Can we even say, of certain works of art, that they are too beautiful: that they ravish when they should disturb. But while we may argue about what is or is not beautiful, Scruton insists that beauty is a real and universal value, one anchored in our rational nature, and that the sense of beauty has an indispensable part to play in shaping the human world.
Forthright and thought-provoking, and as accessible as it is stimulating, this fascinating meditation on beauty draws conclusions that some may find controversial, but, as Scruton shows, help us to find greater meaning in the beautiful objects that fill our lives.

Beauty

Available from these sellers.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Georg Wilhelm Friedr…

8

Paperback
$14.81
Richard Wagner

22

Paperback
$17.33
George Bernard Shaw

1

Paperback
$6.99
John Dewey

36

Paperback
$13.60
Eduard Hanslick

6

Paperback
$14.40
Leo Tolstoy

34

Paperback
$11.55

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

On Beauty and Being Just Paperback

Elaine Scarry

30

$13.91
How to be a conservative Paperback

Roger Scruton

28

$17.35
The Soul of the World Paperback

Roger Scruton

32

$14.17
The Face of God: The Gifford Lectures Paperback

Roger Scruton

11

$15.64

Editorial Reviews

Review

As always with Scruton, his prose is exquisite and wonderfully clear, which fact together with the illustrations make his book a thing of beauty itself. A. C. Grayling, The Art Newspaper Careful and absorbing. A. C. Grayling, The Art Newspaper This is a fascinating and thought-provoking little book. A. C. Grayling, The Art Newspaper Roger Scruton has moments of great insight and clarity in this attractively slim volume. Sebastian Smee, The Observer A fascinating book, which I heartily recommend. Bryan Wilson, Readers Digest Short, fast paced, and wide ranging. Michael Tanner, Literary Review

About the Author

Roger Scruton is research Professor at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences based in Arlington, Virginia. His previous academic affiliations have been Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London, and subsequently Professor of Philosophy and University Professor at Boston University. His most recent books are On Hunting (1998), An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture (1998), Spinoza (1998), and England: an Elegy (2000).

Hardcover: 223 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (May 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 019955952X
ISBN-13: 978-0199559527
Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.9 x 5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 54 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #254 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Aesthetics
- #758 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Aesthetics

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Important information

Ingredients

Example Ingredients

Directions

Example Directions

Customer reviews

Write a customer review

See all 54 customer reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Philosophy

4.4 out of 5 stars

Art & Photography Books

4.1 out of 5 stars

Philosophy Books

4.2 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Where's Godot?Top Contributor: Classic Rock

A full treatment of the topic in a readable format. Highly Recommended.

December 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Roger Scruton does an amazing job of packing an amazing amount of information into this little book. His writing style is fluid and easy to read. He makes topics that have the potential to be quite complex, easy to understand. The book is divided into 9 chapters:

1. Judging beauty
2. Human beauty
3. Natural beauty
4. Everyday beauty
5. Artistic beauty
6. Taste and order
7. Art and eros
8. The flight from beauty
9. Concluding thoughts

As you can see, Scruton covers the topic from all sides. In addition, there are a number of pictures of art works and architectural works to illustrate his points. The only thing different I would have liked to seen is color pictures, but I understand that Oxford University Press is trying to keep these little "A Very Short Introduction" books inexpensive, and for that I am glad. I have a large number of them and I will continue to purchase them as I can. Highly recommended.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Yes

Alexei Fyodorovich

Many Dimensions of Beauty and the Beautiful

December 16, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

It is a fine introduction to the philosophy of beauty, sometimes erroneously called "aesthetics." Though it is not a science of "sensation," as the Greek misnomer would suggest, it is a most important human concern with ethical, spiritual and practical as well as sensory dimensions. Scruton does a fine job of introducing his readers to the whole range of issues, and to the history of European thought about them.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Melanie M.

Beauty is ...

October 23, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As a teacher who teaches a course about life's big questions, like "What is Beauty?", this book is a great resource on a variety of perspectives and research on the topic. While it is certainly not all-encompassing, it is a great starting point to then seek out more information from other sources.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Yes

Extraordinary

October 2, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you're tired of hearing that there is no ground, we have no meaningful roots, and "it's all good" --when you can see that it's not, Scruton is a valuable, insightful ally. A great, uplifting read, and refreshing support for what the current culture is in such denial about.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

sscarlett

indepth and insightful discussion on beauty

March 2, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The discussion on beauty itself is in depth and insightful, and I learned a number of new things. My only issue with the book is the disgruntled tone of the author, which for me detracted from the beauty of his ideas.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Garrett Buhl Robinson

Well organized and insightful introduction

January 23, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Great introduction to a number of aesthetic ideas. Mr. Scruton actually provided the first explanation of some of Kant's ideas that I could understand. For me, that was unquestionably the most exciting part of the read.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

animaliar

Excellent analysis of contemporary views of beauty

April 10, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As a docent at an art museum, I am most interested in the evolution of painting, sculpture and architecture. I find contemporary art baffling, annoying, disturbing and difficult to embrace. Roger Scruton's book has given me a better understanding of the forces behind these works and what they are attempting to convey. While I still do not care for post-modernism, I have a better understanding of it. Beauty is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

V. R. Eeman

Enlightening and intellectual

April 14, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Anything Roger Scruton addresses has depth, originality and proportion. I dedicated high school AP English classes
to Scruton's excellent discussion of beauty and art because his studies are riveting, using classical and modern examples of art with tremendous lucidity. He is a lover of music, architecture, the sacred and the challenging without the haze of
obfuscation so often part of aesthetic discussions.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes