Images of Excellence

Western aesthetics and art theory begin with Plato; Christopher Janaway not only gives an understanding of Plato's criticisms of the arts in the context of his own philosophy, but also locates him in today's philosophy of art. Images of Excellence gives a new and original view of a famous issue in the history of ideas, arguing that Plato presents a more coherent and profound challenge to the arts than has sometimes been supposed. Janaway provides accessible and illuminating discussion of such topics as beauty, emotion, representation, ethical knowledge, artistic autonomy, and censorship; he writes not only for readers working in ancient philosophy, but for all who are interested in aesthetics, art theory, and literary theory.