In fifteen essays-one new, two newly revised and expanded, three with new postscripts-Kendall L. Walton wrestles with philosophical issues concerning music, metaphor, empathy, existence, fiction, and expressiveness in the arts. These subjects are intertwined in striking and surprising ways. By exploring connections among them, appealing sometimes to notions of imagining oneself in shoes different from one’s own, Walton creates a wide-ranging mosaic of innovative insights.

Review

“One of the amazing things about this volume is how much ground it covers, and how much of this ground is integrated within its many individual papers. In the Preface Walton lists a dozen topics that he covers, and it is striking how many papers discuss several of these topics. For their richness alone each of the essays collected here is worth reading — and rereading.”

—Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Online

“Kendall Walton is the world’s finest aesthetician. His work displays an unrivaled combination of sharpness of mind and creativity.”

— Malcolm Budd, President of the British Society of Aesthetics

“Those familiar with Walton’s work will welcome this collection as an addition to their libraries on fiction, make-believe, and empathy, but overall, the collection covers a medley of interconnected issues. Walton is a witty, imaginative, wonderfully clear writer…if one is to fully appreciate the lay of the land in philosophy of art, music, literature, and imagination, one must know and understand Walton’s claims and arguments. This is well-written, carefully reflective philosophy of the highest order…Highly recommended.”

— Choice

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