This translation was made from the third edition of The Foundations of Aesthetics as prepared by the author (I ed. 1933. II ed. 1949. III ed. 1957. IV ed. in Works 1966). Some parts of the text were deleted from this translation such as references to examples which could not be understood by non-Polish readers (e.g. reminiscences about famous theatrical interpretations. theatrical productions dating back many years or references to literary characters which serve as specific examples in the consciousness of readers of Polish literature). Names and works of Polish authors cited in the text have been supplemented by brief information notes (the numbers referring to these footnotes have been differentiated by block parentheses). In the block parentheses in the author's footnotes the latest editions are given. Illustrations at the end of the book have been placed according to the order in which they would best serve to analyze the various topics. IX STANISLAW OSSOWSKI'S CONCEPTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCES The Foundation of Aesthetics is the first major work by Stanislaw Ossowski. Ossowski is well known to the English reader for his socio logical works, and especially for his book Class Structure in Social Consciousness and the majority of his works deal with various theoretical and methodological problems of sociology. It should be stressed here, that the book in the field of aesthetics constitutes a turning point in his biography. in the process of changing his focus of interest from logic to sociology.

The beginning of psychological aesthetics is normally traced back to the publication of Gustav Theodor Fechner's seminal book "Vorschule der Aesthetik" in 1876. Following in the footsteps of this rich tradition, editors Martin Skov and Oshin Vartanian view neuroaesthetics - the emerging field of inquiry concerned with uncovering the ways in which aesthetic behavior is caused by brain processes - as a natural extension of Fechner's 'empirical spirit' to understand the link between the objective and subjective worlds inherent in aesthetic experience. The editors had two specific aims for this book. The first was to highlight the diversity of approaches that are underway under the banner of neuroaesthetics.Currently, this topic is being investigated from experimental, evolutionary, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging perspectives to tackle problems in the visual arts, literature, music, and film. Its quintessentially interdisciplinary nature has functioned as a breeding ground for generating and testing hypotheses in multiple domains. The second goal was more integrative and involved distilling some of the key features common to these diverse strands of work. The book presents a possible framework for neuroaesthetics by highlighting what the contributors consider to be its defining features and offering a working definition of neuroaesthetics that captures these features. "Neuroaesthetics" will provide an empirical and theoretical framework to motivate further work in this area. Ultimately, the hope is that puzzles in aesthetics can be solved through insights from biology, but that the contribution can be truly bidirectional.