Contemplating Art

Contemplating Art is a compendium of writings from the last ten years by one of the leading figures in aesthetics, Jerrold Levinson. The twenty-four essays range over issues in general aesthetics and those relating to specific arts—in particular music, film, and literature. It will appeal not only to philosophers but also to musicologists, literary theorists, art critics, and reflective lovers of the arts.

Jerrold Levinson is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park. His publications include Music, Art, and Metaphysics (1990), The Pleasures of Aesthetics (1998), and Music in the Moment (1998). He is the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics (2003) and co-editor of Aesthetic Concepts (2001). He is Past President of the American Society for Aesthetics and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Aesthetics. His work is widely anthologized and translated into various languages.