Parsons and Carlson examine the relationship between function and aesthetic value. They develop the concept of Functional Beauty, drawing on work in the philosophy of science as well as aesthetics, and show its importance in diverse kinds of aesthetic appreciation - of buildings, nature, everyday objects, and events, as well as artworks. a clear-headed, smart, vigorous defence of a new and very important theoretical position in philosophical aesthetics ... This book is a landmark study of an important subject and the one that anyone interested in the way in which aesthetic judgments are made - whether in art, in nature, or in everyday life - should read.