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The notion of beauty as a point of transit between the sensuous and the ideal is well-established in the history of Western philosophy. Describing this transition and seeking to rethink the ways in which humans understand the things they find beautiful in life, Harry Underwood’s The Experience of Beauty approaches the notion of beauty through the insights of major but distinctively individual philosophers and artists.
In seven essays and a dialogue, Underwood considers the principal instances of beauty as it reveals itself in everyday experience, as a concept in the mind of the philosopher, as the artist’s vision, and as the shining image of the ideal. Considering the perspectives of many notable figures in the Western canon of philosophy and literature for whom beauty and the imagination have mattered, including Plato, Nietzsche, Auden, Coleridge, Proust, and Iris Murdoch, Underwood draws out a rounded sense of beauty. It is shown, on one view, to be inherent in a perceptible order and, on another, to be an expression of the will to confer meaning on a meaningless world. In art, beauty reveals itself to be both perceived and created, and a world-disclosing, truth-relaying force. As a final matter, Underwood asks what it means to embrace your own vision of beauty and apply it to your life’s work.
A quietly provocative meditation on the mystery of beauty, this collection of essays contends that beauty serves life as an inspiration, not merely as an ornament.
“Harry Underwood has written a book for the person who, overwhelmed by a painting, a poem, or a symphony, has been inspired to reflect on the encounter with beauty. Plato's quest for the ideal standard is set in dialogue with Nietzsche's challenge to create with courage the beautiful out of one's own unique resources. Then Iris Murdoch, Paul Cézanne and Marcel Proust provide the focus for discussions on the relation between beauty and truth, the interplay between creation and insight, and the role of vision. Woven together by Underwood's thoughtful and wise reflections, the result is a volume that can only serve to enhance aesthetic experience.” John W. Burbidge, Trent University
“The Experience of Beauty emerges under Underwood’s guidance from a variety of different traditions and perspectives. The readerly experience of this emergence is at once engaging and thought-provoking. This is a confident, challenging work on a subject of enduring philosophical importance.” James Crooks, Bishop’s University