David Davies, McGill University, CanadaPierre Destrée University Catholique de Louvain, BelgiumRaf DeClercq, Lingnan University, Hong KongIskra Fileva, University of North Carolina, USAJonathan Gilmore, Columbia University, USACarolyn Korsmeyer, University of Buffalo, USADerek Matravers, The Open University, UKAnna Christina Ribeiro, Texas Tech University, USASandra Shapshay, Indiana University, USAAaron Smuts, Rhode Island College, USACarole Talon-Hugon, University of Nice, FranceCain Todd, University of Lancaster, UKChristopher Williams, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

• Introduction; Jerrold Levinson PART I: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Tragic Pleasures in Plato and Aristotle; Pierre Destrée 2. The Paradox of Negative Emotion in Art in Enlightenment Aesthetics; Carole Talon-Hugon 3. A Lust of the Mind: Curiosity and Aversion in 18th Century British Aesthetics; Carolyn Korsmeyer 4. Mere Suffering: Hume and the Problem of Tragedy; Christopher Williams 5. The Problem and Promise of the Sublime: Lessons from Kant and Schopenhauer; Sandra Shapshay PART II: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES 6. A Simple Solution to the Paradox of Negative Emotion; Raf DeClercq 7. Painful Art and the Limits of Well-Being; Aaron Smuts 8. That Obscure Object of Desire: Pleasure in Painful Art; Jonathan Gilmore 9. Playing With Fire: Art and the Seductive Power of Pain; Iskra Fileva 10. Heavenly Hurt: The Joy and Value of Sad Poetry; Anna Christina Ribeiro 11. Negative Emotions and Creativity; Derek Matravers 12. Attention, Negative Valence, and Tragic Emotions; Cain Todd 13. Watching the Unwatchable: 'Irreversible', 'Empire', and the Other Paradox of Negative Emotions; David Davies