Aesthetics: Volume I

I find that anything written by Dietrich von Hildebrand is well worth reading. He infuses a lot of heart in his work. This recently translated and published book "Aesthetics (Vol.1) is sometimes not an easy read as reaches very deep into many aspects of Western culture that most of us have not learned well or at all. But by perseverance, one is rewarded by being brought to a deep appreciation of the workings of beauty as well as how valuable and interesting Western culture has been. Von Hildebrand brings his love for this culture and its aesthetic spirit to this book, along with providing the reader with an objective guide of how to recognize and approach beauty (man-made or natural) and how to be properly fed by it. Although Von Hildebrand was a philosopher, this is no dry, abstract philosophical tome, but a rather personally-felt apologetic for the value of beauty. This book re-establishes beauty to its rightful objective quality as opposed to the current mentality that limits "beauty to the eye of the beholder" where it is wholly dependent upon the prejudices or other limitations inherent in the beholder. Von Hildebrand says in his introduction that "Beauty is of fundamental importance to the human person, but that is not the primary perspective from which we will look at beauty. Above all, beauty is a reflection of God, a reflection of His own infinite being,a genuine value, something-important-in-itself, something that praises God." (page 4). In other words, beauty is a moral value,something that originated from and exists outside of ourselves,which provides us a guide to life and access to joy. From that premise, he developed this guide to establishing a correct understanding of how to value beauty and its expression in art,music, fashion, even the comical etc. He challenges other philosophical understandings of beauty and their more or less constant attempt to reduce beauty to the subjective, or the utilitarian, or to the celebration of "disvalues" (the morally corrupt which produces ugliness that often now passes for "art"). What I like about this book is that Von Hildebrand's deeply civilized nature shines through on every page. We live in an age with little sensitivity to beauty, even less towards God who embodies Beauty. Our culture seems constantly traumatized by ugliness and "disvalue", yet we think this is something normal. He brings another, much needed, perspective drawn from the once truly glorious culture of Western civilization that he may be the last true spokesman for. In this book he reminds us of what we need to do if we are to find the true connection with beauty, the joy its provides, and most of all, the truth which bears it. I recommend this book for artists and all who wish to live in beauty and truth. This quotation of his I found particularly memorable:: "...one can go so far as to say that that the inner gesture of beauty is a "love"--not indeed a personally performed act nor something that exists consciously, but a gesture carried out in love, a gesture which is present here as a purely qualitative analogy to a dawning radiance, to the shining and sparkling of all love as it awakens. It is as if, when something of great beauty stands before us, we are tempted to say "it loves".(p. 451) This sensibility is what Von Hildebrand weaves throughout this book.

A classic, serious examination of each important category of aesthetic theory

The analysis of Dr. Dietrich von Hildenbrand as it regards aesthetics is diverse. Aesthetics is not just about the surface appearance and aesthetics can be attached to class. The front cover is deceiving, thus regardless of your ethnic background, this book is definitely worth reading because his ideas and theories can be applicable to any ethnic group. I'll be buying more books from the volume because given the depth, they are worth the purchase as textbooks. If you are studying the arts and humanities in any way, this books is worth reading. Hildenbrand debunks so much of the status quo as it relates to what beauty is and what it is not. He also does an outstanding job in explaining the antithesis of beauty as well. My understanding of aesthetics is evolving thanks to this book. I now understand aesthetics as a bit more complex with a lot more moving parts than just the poles of white or black.

Excellent read for anyone interested in beauty and phenomenology.

It is a book that makes you appreciate beauty in a much more profound way. I'm expecting volume 2 to be a lot better since it talks about art and some about purity.

This is a book about the beauty of creation.

It was given as a gift. My granddaughter was very pleased with it.

I've been waiting to read this book in English for twenty years. Much of the book’s appeal is that Hildebrand defends an objective understanding of beauty against relativism. Additionally, his life, which reads like a novel, was a testimony to the power of beauty in transforming a soul and leading one, via pulchritudinis, to the heart of the Church. Hildebrand’s Aesthetics is reputed to be one of his finest works. Hildebrand wrote his Aesthetics near the end of his life. His widow, Alice von Hildebrand, has said, “Aesthetics [is] best understood as an explosion of insights. He knew he was running out of time, and so he tried to capture the Niagara Falls of ideas that flowed out of him.” Alice von Hildebrand also tells a story indicative of her husband’s character. There was concern he had cancer and so he had a colonoscopy. Alice, terrified of what the results might be, prayed the rosary ceaselessly during the procedure. The doctor finally emerged to tell her that her husband would be fine, but just needed a change in diet. Much relieved, Alice waited for her husband to emerge from the procedure. She recounts, “Some moments later my husband came out. Looking at me with a radiant smile, and without even alluding to the good news, he said to me “while the doctor was examining me, I had such deep insights into beauty! Let us rush home so that I can immediately incorporate these into the text!” Clearly, this was an intellectual, an artisan of words and ideas, awash in the wonder of beauty and love, even under the most dire of circumstances. The ever-thoughtful Dana Gioia, former Chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts, wrote the book’s foreword, and philosopher Dr. Robert Wood, and Dr. John Crosby, one of Hildebrand’s students, have also made contributions. Seems like an essential resource for anyone interested in the relationship between beauty, faith, culture, and the soul.