Just finished Roger Scruton's 'Beauty: A Very Short Introduction' and wow, it's way more than just a philosophy book. It’s like having a deep late-night chat with a really smart friend who’s obsessed with art and meaning.
Scruton doesn’t just define beauty—he makes you question why we even care about it. The way he ties Kant’s ideas into modern debates (without putting you to sleep) is low-key brilliant. Also, his take on erotic art vs. pornography in Chapter 2? Unexpectedly spicy for a philosophy text.
Favorite part: When he compares judging jokes to judging art. Never thought my bad meme taste could be philosophical, but here we are. The religious undertones in the final chapter hit different too—beauty as salvation from ‘kitsch’ feels weirdly relatable in our Instagram-filtered world.
PS: The black-and-white art pics are cool, but my color-starved millennial brain kept wishing they’d splurged on a few glossy pages. Still, 10/10 for making aesthetics feel urgent and alive.