Beauty: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Excellent introduction to thinking philosophically about beauty
Roger Scruton has written a fascinating and thought-provoking introduction to the philosophical musings surrounding beauty in this book. Rather than attempting to to exactly define what beauty is he takes a different route, striving to help the reader work through how beauty relates to man and what the significance of that relationship is. Scruton leans heavily on Kant, never quite affirming or denying Kant’s ideas, but rather playing off of them, pointing out where they are helpful but also exposing their shortsightedness and/or misconceptions. In that regard, Scruton felt very balanced and mature in his approach.

As a writer, I greatly appreciated Scruton’s tactic of introducing ideas and concepts early in the book which he utilized later, early ideas and concepts being built upon and “paying off” later on in the book. The connection of desire and the exploration of sexual desire and attraction between people which he works through in the second chapter is essential to the line between erotic art and pornography he divines later on. Additionally, he introduces the idea of the sacred as early as the first chapter, though it is much more extensively explored in the second chapter and onward, which he then draws on for his climactic eighth chapter, art is contrasted with kitsch and the treasuring of the sacred with its desecration in postmodernity.

Additionally, though it was only explored briefly, the parallel between the appreciation of jokes (and the difference between good ones and bad ones) and the beauty of art (which is judged as good and bad as well) I found quite insightful. I think a better argument might have been made for some equivalence between humor and beauty, but there are also dark corners to the reality of humor which do not fit Scruton’s ultimate orientation for beauty, so that equivalence would not have lasted long at all.

Though he never comes forward as a Christian, Scruton’s religious worldview is evident in the eighth chapter, specifically with his elevation of sacrifice as that path which beauty offers to man as salvation from the mindless addiction of kitsch and desecration. To explore the ramifications of such a connection would, in my opinion, require an entirely different volume (or more) to tease out. Here, Scruton seems satisfied to point and highlight.

Overall I found the book a quite enjoyable read, and much more accessible than I first feared. Though some of the philosophical waters he treads in are deep, he does so with ease and an nonchalant proficiency of which I am slightly envious. I would highly recommend this book to pastors and especially worship leaders or worship arts pastors who are trying to work through how the arts can fit into their church. While not proposing a theology of the arts, Scruton has laid a philosophical (and almost theological) foundation which could greatly contribute to anyone working through such things. I also think this book would be accessible to anyone interested in delving a little deeper into the philosophical waters surrounding beauty, and it would be a great starting point before diving into some much deeper waters with other philosophical writers.

Good primer for beginning contemplation
Exposes and explores many of the issues around the concept of beauty in art, and the author does a very good job of providing examples to understand the issues as well as specific instantiations that many readers might know in their artistic fields of practice (music, sculpture, painting, writing, theatre, etc.).If you’re looking for a clear and stable definition of beauty or art, good luck. At best, there are simply conversations–some of which are considered passe’, politically incorrect, or irrelevant these days. (We’re kind of in a strange time in art.)

Beautifully done!
A masterful work that employs and displays the humility of words to express a response to a transcendent reality. Bravo

A full treatment of the topic in a readable format. Highly Recommended.
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 beauty2. Human beauty3. Natural beauty4. Everyday beauty5. Artistic beauty6. Taste and order7. Art and eros8. The flight from beauty9. Concluding thoughtsAs 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.

An Introduction to Beauty by Professor Roger Scruton is an absolutely sublime and concentrated introduction to the topic of beauty and aesthetics.This book is written with serious academic rigor and draws from cultures across the world to help us appreciate that yes, there is such a thing as real beauty, that it is a highly spiritual and metaphysical endeavour, and that what passes for “modern art” now is an obvious abomination, an insult to the word “art” in particular and the public in general. The fable of “The emperor’s new clothes” aptly sums up the pretence of modern so-called-art.Being a book written in English, by an Englishman, for an English-speaking audience, it is natural that this introduction will concentrate predominantly on the topics with…A) The most literature and academic study.B) The most famous works of art for the layman to recognise and appreciate andC) The European/Hellenistic/Romanesque heritage that comprises most of the contents of the former two considerations.However, Professor Scruton did not live in ignorance of other cultures (it would be a fruitless endeavour to try and arrive at a universally recognised intuition of beauty without looking worldwide), and he writes about examples from across the world such as the aesthetics of the Japanese tea ceremony, the dances of Indian tradition and the domineering architecture of ancient Egypt.However, the point of this introduction is not to sweat tirelessly to equally represent all genders, cultures and heritages in a tiny introduction booklet. The point of this book is to introduce you to the concepts and nuances, in the appreciation of aesthetics and the messages conveyed in surroundings; from street buildings to the simple array of food and drink on a table. For example, he speaks of the jug of wine in the middle of the typical Mediterranean dinner table as an aesthetic statement; one that alludes to a certain style of warm relaxed life and easy access to rough wine, the aspects of daily life that are themselves an act of self-knowledge, self-awareness.Furthermore, Professor Scruton uses many examples to explain the subtleties in difference between, say, representation and expression or erotic art and pornography, and why the distinctions are crucially important. Other sections deal with the obvious relativistic objections that arise from such a book as this, and he handles them masterfully.For example, the elevation of the grotesque we see in so many modern so-called-art galleries today has philosophical and even political reasons and Scruton starts with Duchamp’s objectively awful 1917 “work” called “Fountain”, which is literally just a porcelain urinal on the floor with some graffiti on it. We see modern cliché imitations of this shock value kitsch throughout the 20th and now 21st century, from Andres Serrano’s award-winning desecration called “piss christ” (A crucifix floating in a vat of the “artist’s” urine) to the sculpture of an arse that won acclaim at the Tate modern. Truly, the beret-wearing, vice-reading petit bourgeois have been lapping it up for decades. Anyone daring to counter this new orthodoxy of the ugly and profane is dismissed out of hand, perhaps even condemned. Professor Scruton demolishes them completely.You’ll feel refreshed at the sound of reality being spoken once again, as real beauty is proclaimed and explained. Perhaps even nervous, as is the natural response these days when someone dares to put their head above the parapet and tell an unfashionable truth.The further reading section is excellent, and I would highly recommend reading some of the selections from the list such as Wendy Steiner’s “Venus in Exile”.If you didn’t like the book, well that’s fine. Perhaps just consider it a piece of provocative art?

Scrutonは、強面の美学者、しかも世間の評判では、保守的というのが言い過ぎなら、少なくとも伝統遵守の生真面目な美学者とされているようです。そして本人自身も、今日、クラシックな意味での「美」が大切にされなくなっているのを嘆いています。しかし、決して姿勢を崩さず、論理的に筋を通し、しかも、基本的に反-プラントン主義の立場にたち、具体的経験を重んじる、見かけとは異なり、誤解を恐れずに言うなら「民主主義的」な美学を尊重している、その姿勢は、なかなか見どころがある美学者である、そのことが本書で分かるのではないか。