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Aesthetic thought of a distinctively modern art emerged during the 18th century. The western philosophers and critics of this time devoted much attention to such matters （1） natural beauty， the sublime， and representationa trend reflecting the central position they had given to the philosophy of nature. （2） that time， however， the philosophy of art has become ever more （3） and has begun to （4） the philosophy of nature. Various issues （5） to the philosophy of art have had a （6） impact （7） the orientation of 20th-century aesthetics. （8） among these are problems relating to the theory of art as form and （9） the distinction between representation and expression. Still another far-reaching question has to do with the value of art. Two opposing theoretical positions （10） on this issue： one holds that art and its appreciation are a means to some recognized moral good， （11） the other maintains that art is intrinsically valuable and is an end in itself. Underlying this whole issue is the concept of taste， one of the basic concerns of aesthetics. In recent years there has also been an increasing （12） with art as the prime object of critical judgment. Corresponding to the trend in contemporary aesthetic thought， （13） have followed （14） of two approaches. In one， criticism is restricted to the analysis and interpretation of the work of art. （15）， it is devoted to articulating the response to the aesthetic object and to （16） a particular way of perceiving it. | 
