Baumgarten’s Aesthetics

Edited by J. Colin McQuillan

The German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) introduced "aesthetics" as a new science in his Reflections on Poetry (1735) and developed this new part of philosophy in a series of later works, culminating in his unfinished Aesthetics (1750/1758). This volume is the first collection of essays in the English language devoted to Baumgarten's aesthetics. The essays highlight the distinguishing features of Baumgarten's aesthetics, situate it in its historical context, document its reception, and examine its contributions to contemporary philosophy.

IntroductionContributorsI. Baumgarten's Aesthetics1. Ursula Franke (Münster), "Baumgarten's Discovery of Aesthetics" (translation) 2. Stefanie Buchenau (Paris), "Baumgarten's Aesthetics and the Modern Art of Invention"3. Matthew McAndrew (College of New Jersey), "Beauty and Appearance in Baumgarten's Metaphysics and Aesthetics"4. Angelica Nuzzo (CUNY), "Aesthetic Truth in Baumgarten's Aesthetics"II. Historical and Philosophical Contexts5. Simon Grote (Wellesley), "Pietist Aisthesis and Moral Education in Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten" (translation)6. J. Colin McQuillan (St. Mary's), "Baumgarten's Aesthetics and the Critique of Wolffian Rationalism"7. Alessandro Nannini (Bucharest), "The Co-Founding of Aesthetics: Baumgarten and Meier"8. Anne Pollok (South Carolina), "An Exercise in Humanity: Abbt and Mendelssohn on Baumgarten's Notion of 'Aesthetic Training' and its Relation to the Vocation of Humanity"9. Hans Adler (Wisconsin), "Perception, Cognition, Humanity: Herder's Critical Appropriation of Baumgarten's Aesthetics" 10. Robert Clewis (Gwynedd-Mercy), "The Majesty of Cognition: The Sublime in Baumgarten, Mendelssohn, and Kant"III. Contemporary Perspectives11. Christophe Menke (Frankfurt), "The Discipline of Aesthetics is the Aesthetic of Discipline: Baumgarten from Foucault's Perspective" (translation)12. Amelia Hruby (DePaul), "The Happy Aesthetician and the Feminist Killjoy: Baumgarten and Ahmed"BibliographyIndex