VERSANDKOSTENFREI AB 9 € (D)
DIREKT BEIM VERLAG BESTELLEN
SIGNIERTE BÜCHER
VERSANDKOSTENFREI AB 9 € (D)
DIREKT BEIM VERLAG BESTELLEN
SIGNIERTE BÜCHER

The Promise of Beauty

Suhrkamp | Insel
Rights sold to:

Japan (Gendai Shicho Shinsha)

Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Aesthetica)

The Promise of Beauty / Das Versprechen der Schönheit
What is the secret of beauty? What is its power, its perception, its premise, its promise? The power of beauty comes from the lure of a promise embedded in its perception. But a promise is not yet the redeem of what it has announced.


In his study, Menninghaus does not only fathom the »promise of happiness«, as Stendhal would call beauty, but also unveils the reverse of it: all other aspects which are as well inherent to the promise: the costs, the backsides, the possible...
Read more

What is the secret of beauty? What is its power, its perception, its premise, its promise? The power of beauty comes from the lure of a promise embedded in its perception. But a promise is not yet the redeem of what it has announced.


In his study, Menninghaus does not only fathom the »promise of happiness«, as Stendhal would call beauty, but also unveils the reverse of it: all other aspects which are as well inherent to the promise: the costs, the backsides, the possible failures of the promise we associate with beauty: why is it that the protagonists of ancient beauty myths are often doomed to a premature death? Is beauty really a crucial advantage from the evolutionary-biologic point of view? Why does the spectacular flashy feathers´ firework, which makes the peacock a paradigmatic emblem of Darwin´s evolutionary aesthetics, simultaneously puts him at risk of exposure to vultures, through this very same enhancement of beauty, of increased visibility? Why is the contemporary cult of the look so hysterical about styling and shaping? What are the fundamental elements and regulations of the condition of beauty, and how can we explain our strong determination about it? Menninghaus combines a reading of myths and mythologies with a comprehensive acknowledgement of evolutionary theories and historical perspectives on the effects of beauty, for a renewed view on the difference of aesthetics, and a new positioning.

2003, 386 pages
Service
Cover (Web)Cover (Print)

Persons

Winfried Menninghaus is professor of General and Comparative Literature at the Free University of Berlin.

Winfried Menninghaus is professor of General and Comparative Literature at the Free University of Berlin.


OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Why Art?
Year of Publication: 2011
Winfried MenninghausYear of Publication: 2011
Winfried Menninghaus develops a convincing explanation why, from what and when human arts were created.


Charles Darwin derived his model of aesthetic representation and...
Rights sold to:

English world rights (Academic Studies Press), Japan (Hosei UP)

Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Grafiche Fiorini)
Disgust
Year of Publication: 2002
Winfried MenninghausYear of Publication: 2002

Disgust (Ekel, dégoût) is a state of high alert. It acutely says »no« to a variety of phenomena that seemingly threaten the integrity of the self, if not its very...

Rights sold to:

English world rights (SUNY Press), Japan (Hosei UP), Poland (Universitas)

Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Mimesis)

In Praise of Nonsense
Year of Publication: 1995
Winfried MenninghausYear of Publication: 1995
Shells, leafwork, picture frames, hummingbirds, wallpaper decorations, hems of clothing – such are the examples Kant's Critique of Judgment offers for a »free« and purely aesthetic...
Rights sold to:

English world rights (Stanford UP)