Functional Beauty

Functional Beauty is an in-depth philosophical study of the relationship between function and aesthetic value. Breaking with the philosophical tradition of separating aesthetic value from functionality and drawing on recent research on the nature of function in the philosophy of science, Glenn Parsons and Allen Carlson explore the ways in which aesthetic value can depend upon function. In so doing, they provide a theory of the aesthetics of functionalobjects, including furniture, tools, and machines. They also shed new light on the aesthetics of the natural environment, architecture, and art.