Inaugural Lecture by Professor Richard Shusterman: 'Ethics and Aesthetics: From Somaesthetics to the Art of Living' – and launch of The Journal of Somaesthetics

Programme:

15:00 - 15:20: Welcome + introduction to Shustermans inaugural lecture + refreshments
 

15:20 - 16:20: Inaugural lecture: Ethics and Aesthetics: From Somaesthetics to the Art of Living

Ethics and aesthetics tend to be sharply distinguished and frequently opposed as rival realms of value. The apparent conflict between them is discomforting for artists and theorists who seek to combine aesthetic values and ethical aims in their work. My lecture seeks to ease this theoretical tension in two ways. First, through a genealogical analysis of the complexity of our concepts of ethics and aesthetics, I argue that, in some of their historical conceptions, they display considerable convergence. Here I appeal both to classical Western and Asian theories of ethics and aesthetics. Second, I show how these notions converge in the pragmatist, somaesthetic notion of an embodied art of living. I conclude by revealing how this art of living can, even for a philosopher, include the challenge of artistic performance.

16:20 – 16:30: Questions

16:30 – 17:30: Reception and launch of the limited edition paperversion of The Journal of Somaesthetics (100 copies only)

In the kitchen area (room 6.205).
This new open access journal is aimed at those who are interested in how art and aesthetics affect our everyday lives. It focuses on the experiences we do with and through our living body - or soma, hence the name soma esthetics. More about The Journal of Somaestetics