Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference. In this Very Short Introduction, the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object--either in art, in nature, or the human form--beautiful, and examining how we can compare differing judgments of beauty when it is evident all around us that our tastes vary so widely. Is there a right judgment to be made about beauty? Is it right to say there is more beauty in a classical temple than a concrete office block, more in a Rembrandt than in an Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can? Forthright and thought-provoking, and as accessible as it is intellectually rigorous, this introduction to the philosophy of beauty draws conclusions that some may find controversial, but, as Scruton shows, help us to find greater sense of meaning in the beautiful objects that fill our lives.

美可以是安慰的、令人不安的、神圣的、亵渎的；它可以是令人振奋的、有吸引力的、鼓舞人心的、令人心寒的。它能以无限多样的方式影响我们。然而，人们对它从来都是漠不关心的。在这本《非常简短的介绍》中，著名哲学家罗杰-斯克鲁顿探讨了 "美 "的概念，询问是什么让一个物体--无论是艺术、自然还是人类的形式--变得美丽，并研究当我们周围的人的品味如此不同时，我们如何能够比较对美的不同判断。关于美，是否有一个正确的判断？说古典神庙的美多于混凝土办公大楼，伦勃朗的美多于安迪-沃霍尔的金宝汤罐，这是否正确？这本关于美的哲学的介绍直截了当，发人深省，既通俗易懂，又理智严谨，它得出的结论有些人可能会觉得有争议，但正如斯克鲁顿所表明的，它有助于我们在充满我们生活的美丽物品中找到更大的意义。