The comparison I make in this essay between the aesthetics of Susanne Langer and Maurice Merleau-Ponty is inspired by questions asked repeatedly by students in my aesthetics course: Why do we read philosophers of art? What do we expect to gain from reading philosophy of art? What do its authors hope to accomplish? It is always important for an instructor to provide a road map for course content, and even more so when the course is part of a liberal education (...) curriculum. Since students enrolled in the course come from a variety of majors, it is helpful for them to see the relevance of the course subject matter and their chosen field of study, placing the latter in the context of the larger web of cultural activity.... (shrink)