The Quest for the Fine: A Philosophical Inquiry into Judgment, Worth, and Existence

by Michael Gelven

Overview

In this original and compelling exploration of the meaning of the term 'fine' and the phenomenon of refinement, noted scholar Michael Gelven reflects on the relationship between refinement and existence. Beginning with a study of perceptual refinement, Gelven shows how in some cases this refinement discloses an existential essence—as an architect shows us what it means to dwell. Gelven then moves to a refinement of self, not equating it with virtue but showing how refinement illuminates our understanding of our ethical and aesthetic judgments, and of what it means to be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847681242
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/28/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Michael Gelven is Presidential Research Professor of Philosophy at Northern Illinois University. Among his recent books are War and Existence, Spirit and Existence and A Commentary on Heidegger's Being and Time, Revised edition.

Editorial Reviews

All audiences...not just specialists in philosophy, will find much to delight them, and much to ponder, in this thoughtful, impassioned book.

Steven Galt Crowell

A subtle and often elegant essay on a topic that all too frequently escapes the attention of professional philosophers.

Stanley Rosen

The importance of this absolutely original study of the endangered idea of the 'fine' cannot be exaggerated...

Francisco J. Gonzalez

All audiences...not just specialists in philosophy, will find much to delight them, and much to ponder, in this thoughtful, impassioned book.--Steven Galt Crowell, Rice University

A speculative work of great scope and profundity but contained in a small compass...[I]t exposes the nihilism that is unwittingly and unintentionally generated by the Enlightenment and points the way to recovering the question of human excellence in a way that is modern...but escapes the ideology of modernity. It is a well argued and spirited celebration of the philosophical life properly conceived.--Donald W. Livingston, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University DIS .40

The importance of this absolutely original study of the endangered idea of the 'fine' cannot be exaggerated...--Francisco J. Gonzalez, Skidmore College

From the Publisher

The honesty, rigor, and probity of his thinking are evident throughout this compelling examination of all that is 'fine' in our lives.

Jerome Miller

A speculative work of great scope and profundity but contained in a small compass...[I]t exposes the nihilism that is unwittingly and unintentionally generated by the Enlightenment and points the way to recovering the question of human excellence in a way that is modern...but escapes the ideology of modernity. It is a well argued and spirited celebration of the philosophical life properly conceived.

Donald W. Livingston