Aesthetics of the Environment and Landscape

The course aims to provide students with a theoretical background on the essential features of "Aesthetics" as a philosophical discipline. Specifically, the course will offer an introduction to the "Aesthetics of environment" (beginning with a phenomenological approach to the notions of "lived space" and "Lebenswelt - world of life") as well as to the "Aesthetics of landscape" (particularly as regards the aesthetic categories of the beautiful and the sublime and their contemporary relevance). The proposed reflections will also be discussed in the light of modes of manifestations of contemporary environments and landscapes: (i) those that are 'natural' and anthropic; (ii) those that are emerging from virtual reality and artificial intelligence; (iii) those that are being redefined by the interactions of these first two directions, for example in augmented or mixed reality (AR; MR)

By the course's conclusion, students will be able to develop a critical-philosophical approach to the aesthetic categories discussed and notions of "environment" and "landscape". They will be able to apply this knowledge to study the geographical sciences, including their naturalistic, anthropic, and digital components. Students will also gain a new perspective on philosophical questions raised by the new types of environments and landscapes, enabling them to better understand the contemporary "world of life (Lebenswelt)". These skills can be developed both in order to think about new possibilities of territory valorizations and, in an ecological direction, sustainable development of environmental resources.