Ομιλία του Arto Haapala (University of Helsinki) με θέμα «The Role of Philosophical Aesthetics in the Time of Crisis: From Phenomenology to Praxis», την Παρασκευή 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2023, στις 18:00, στην Αίθουσα 209 της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής του ΕΚΠΑ. Προλογίζει η επίκουρη καθηγήτρια Φωτεινή Βασιλείου. Διοργάνωση: Στο πλαίσιο του ΠΜΣ «Φιλοσοφία» του Τμήματος Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ."

The Role of Philosophical Aesthetics in the Time of Crisis: From Phenomenology to Praxis

Arto Haapala (University of Helsinki)

In my talk, I will attempt to outline some ways in which philosophical aesthetics can contribute to human well-being in an era in which human existence is in danger. My aim is not to provide a recipe for therapeutic self-help, even though I fully understand the importance of various therapeutic practices. Rather, the aim of this talk is to point out some aspects in our very everyday existence which have aesthetic relevance and which can, accordingly, increase human well-being. I will sketch out some of the recent discussion around the notion of “everyday aesthetics,” and put emphasis in the daily routines and their aesthetic importance. My starting point is Martin Heidegger’s analysis of human existence. Humans always exist within a world and try to create familiarity and stability around them. Stability and reliability are at the very heart of our existence; we crave for them and achieving them is satisfying. In my view, this satisfaction can be called aesthetic, even though it differs from the experiences that great works of art are capable of arousing. Both, however, belong in the same continuum.

Arto Haapala received his PhD in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has been Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Helsinki since 1995. He has been a visiting Professor at Temple University, Philadelphia; Lancaster University, UK; Universities of Murcia and Málaga, Spain; University of Palermo, Italy; and a visiting researcher at Universities of Freiburg and Bochum, Germany. He has conducted research on various issues in aesthetics, particularly in ontology and interpretation, as well as in environmental aesthetics, and Martin Heidegger’s philosophy. His most recent interests lie in the aesthetics of everyday environments and urban aesthetics. In 2010, he co-founded the Journal Aesthetic Pathways with Gerald Cipriani. The Journal was later relaunched in 2014 by Routledge under the title Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology.

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