Enlightenment Aesthetics and Beyond
The 'Enlightenment Aesthetics and Beyond' conference will bring together scholars in aesthetics and the history of philosophy to explore aesthetic theory in the Enlightenment, the reception of British aesthetic theory in Germany, and the significance of these ideas for contemporary debates in aesthetics and other fields.
The conference will address a range of topics, including: taste and judgment; expressivism; the sublime; aesthetics of nature; the intersection of aesthetics and moral philosophy; rationalist and empiricist approaches to aesthetics; and the theories of Du Bos, Hume, Reid, Kant, Schopenhauer and Hegel, among others.
The conference builds upon projects carried out during the National Endowment of the Humanities research seminar, 'Scottish Enlightenment Aesthetics and its German Reception', held in St Andrews, Scotland, 2007. The conference is part of a series of events across the University of Edinburgh marking the tercentenary of David Hume's birth (2011): 'Celebrating Connections'.
Keynote Speakers:
- Professor Paul Guyer (Murray Professor of the Humanities, University of Pennsylvania)
- Emeritus Professor Peter Jones (University of Edinburgh)
We are grateful to the University of Edinburgh, the British Society of Aesthetics and the Scots Philosophical Association for supporting this conference.
Contact Details
Further Information
Registration, accommodation and locations.
Conference Programme
Thursday, December 15th
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Registration |
| 09.30 – 10:30 | Jason Gaiger (Oxford University), 'Indeterminacy and ideal form: Herder's theory of landscape depiction' |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | James Shelley (Auburn University) 'The Joint Verdict of True Judges' |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Rachel Zuckert (Northwestern University) 'Reid's Expressivist Aesthetics' |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Keynote: Paul Guyer (University of Pennsylvania), ‘”A Treasure Chamber of the Human Soul”: Baumgarten, Mendelssohn, and Herder’ |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Tea |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Jonathan Friday (University of Kent), title tba |
| 17:30 – 19:15 | Reception and 'Beholder' art exhibition, Talbot Rice Gallery, Old College |
| 19:30 | Conference Dinner |
Friday, December 16th
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Keynote: Peter Jones (Emeritus Professor, University of Edinburgh), Once More Back to the Contexts' |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Alex Neill (University of Southampton), 'Schopenhauer and 18th Century British Philosophy' |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Alison Stone (Lancaster University), 'Early German Romanticism, Aesthetics, and Nature' |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Closing discussion |
| 15:30 | Conference ends |
Saturday, December 17th
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 09:30 – 11:30 | Historic City Tour, Charles Withers, Professor of Historical Geography, University of Edinburgh (registration required) |
Conference participants will also be interested in attending this event: Nature of Knowledge Public Lecture: Professor Paul Guyer, 'Hume, Kant, and the Passion for Reason', Wednesday, 14th December, 5.30 pm, Lecture Theatre F21, Psychology Building, 7 George Square, University of Edinburgh
Programme details may be subject to change.