Where participatory art projects today clearly oppose an autonomous aesthetic, the question of the relationship between art and society – which in European schools of thought has been the source of competing and often antagonistic arguments for over 200 years – takes on renewed relevance. Focusing on the present, this volume discusses this contentious subject from current philosophical and aesthetic perspectives. The diverse range of contributions grapple with the power and weakness of art, the timeliness of beauty, the (un)political nature of reflection and participation, and the role of the art critic, as well as the assertion of a politics of art.
