Beauty: A Very Short Introduction

Roger Scruton

Feb 2019 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Chris MacDonnell

About this audiobook

Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference. In this Very Short Introduction, the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object-either in art, in nature, or the human form-beautiful, and examining how we can compare differing judgments of beauty when it is evident all around us that our tastes vary so widely. Is there a right judgment to be made about beauty? Is it right to say there is more beauty in a classical temple than a concrete office block, more in a Rembrandt than in an Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can? Forthright and thought-provoking, and as accessible as it is intellectually rigorous, this introduction to the philosophy of beauty draws conclusions that some may find controversial, but, as Scruton shows, help us to find greater sense of meaning in the beautiful objects that fill our lives.

About the author

Roger Scruton is widely seen as one of the greatest conservative thinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A polymath who wrote a wide array of fiction, nonfiction, and reviews, he was also the author of over fifty books. He died in January 2020.

Chris MacDonnell is a classically trained actor who holds a degree from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. His theater credits include London's West End and the Royal National Theatre, and he has been featured in British TV shows, BBC radio-drama, commercials, and films. Chris now lives in Southern California.