Baumgarten’s Aesthetics: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives

The German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) is known as the founder of modern aesthetics because he introduced the term aesthetics into philosophy in his Reflections on Poetry (1736), Metaphysics (1739), and in his unfinished Aesthetics (1750/1758). This volume is the first collection of essays in the English language devoted to Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten’s aesthetics. The essays collected in this volume explain the distinguishing features of Baumgarten’s aesthetics; situate it in its historical context; document its reception; and examine its contributions to contemporary philosophy.