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Natural Beauty: A Theory of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts
Natural Beauty A Theory of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts Author:Ronald Moore Natural Beauty presents a bold new philosophical account of the principles involved in making aesthetic judgments about natural objects. It surveys historical and modern accounts of natural beauty and weaves elements derived from those accounts into a "syncretic theory" that centers on key features of aesthetic experience--specifically, f... more »eatures that sustain and reward attention. In this way, it sets itself apart from both the purely cognitive and the purely emotive approaches that have dominated natural aesthetics until now. Moore's theory shows why aesthetic appreciation of works of art and aesthetic appreciation of nature can be mutually reinforcing; that is, cooperative rather than rival enterprises. Moore also makes a compelling case for how and why the experience of natural beauty can contribute to the larger project of living a good life. In addition to making a very important contribution to the literature on environmental aesthetics, the book will be of interest to those interested in aesthetics generally, because of the way it relates the aesthetic experience of art and nature and because of the way it brilliantly summarizes the whole history of aesthetics.« less