Genese Grill
For thousands of years, the materiality of the world has been suspected as fleeting, shallow, or deceptive, while continuing to be a driving force of many of our choices and pleasures and also an impetus for learning and meaning making. From Plato to Christianity to Descartes, some philosophers have assumed a dualism between the mind and the body, usually elevating what is considered a separate Spirit above Matter, more or less denigrating the world of the senses. This legacy often informs contemporary social and aesthetic judgments, often leading to dreary utilitarianism and an excesses of moral censure. There is, however, another legacy—one that sees the body and the mind, materiality and spirit, as connected and that believes in a meaningful and fruitful relationship between form, surface, dynamic physical factors, and a meaningful existence. Contemporary brain science (neuro-aesthetics), further, provides evidence that our minds naturally search for and require order, harmony, and beauty in order to learn and grow—calling claims about the alleged social construction of beauty into question. This discussion will explore the history of ideas about the relationship between the material world and the way in which we choose to live our lives, ultimately celebrating much-maligned Beauty, as a vital force in life, art, and ethics.
Tea will be served.