Although it is primarily concerned with such qualities as beauty and sublimity in works of art and in nature, and therefore is part of the thinking of humankind since there was a humankind, the term "aesthetics" was coined in the eighteenth century. However, the contributions here reflect a full sweep of thought from classic sources to modern theories and contemporary thinking on aesthetics and the philosophy of art. The 55 entries include the work of Plato, Aristotle, Platinus, St. Augustine, St. Bonaventure, the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Hume, Burke, Lessing, and Kant, with modern theorists such as Schiller, von Schelling, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Tolstoy, Dewey, Heidegger, Adorno and Gadamer. Contemporary commentators are also well-represented, with Feagin and Meskin, Vacell, Danto, Dickie, Sibley, Mothersill, Nehamas, Carroll, Kivy and Devereaux. Suitable as an undergraduate text or even a professional reference. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)