University of Basel

Faculty of Humanities
and Social Sciences

eikones - Center for the Theory and History of the Image

19 Sep 2025 - 20 Sep 2025

eikones Forum, Rheinsprung 11, 4051 Basel

Organizer:
Stephanie Schuster, Markus Wild (Department of Philosophy, University of Basel)

Public event, Workshop

Natural Beauty and the Good Life: An International Workshop

This workshop investigates natural beauty’s potential eudaimonic meaning, that is, in which ways its experience can contribute to human flourishing. In doing so, the workshop highlights the significance of aesthetics in the field of environmental philosophy and nature conservation.

Poster für Workshop

 

Speakers
Emily Brady, Texas A&M University
Kerry Clark, University of Tennessee
David E. Cooper, Durham University
Anna Deplazes Zemp, University of Zurich
Marcello Di Paola, University of Palermo
Elisabetta Di Stefano, University of Palermo
Laura Fumagalli, University of Augsburg/LMU Munich
Guðbjörg Jóhannesdóttir, University of Iceland
Samuel Jonathan, University of Oklahoma
Yuriko Saito, Rhode Island School of Design
Stephanie Schuster, University of Basel
Sandra Shapshay, Hunter College (CUNY)
Fran Speed, Independent Scholar

 

Program (pdf)

Day 1 – Friday, 19.09.2025
9:00 – 9:10Welcome
9:10 – 10:10

"What, exactly, do we mean by ‘natural’ beauty? A relational based approach to aesthetic appraisal and its implications for the connection thought to exist between natural beauty and human wellbeing"
Fran Speed (Dr., Independent Scholar, London)

10:10 – 11:10"Aesthetic values as relational values. Understanding eudaimonic human-nature relationships through environmental aesthetics"
Anna Deplazes Zemp (Dr., University of Zurich)
11:10 – 11:30Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:30"Exploring the experience of beauty in nature through microphenomenology"
Guðbjörg Jóhannesdóttir (Ass. Prof., University of Iceland)
12:30 – 14:00Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:00"Natural beauty and the enhancement of life"
David E. Cooper (Prof. Em., Durham University)
15:00 – 16:00"Varieties of natural beauty and the ‘good life’"
Emily Brady (Prof., Texas A&M University)
16:00 – 16:20Coffee Break
16:20 – 17:20"The rhythms of life: natural cycles, beauty, and the good life"
Kerry Clark (PhD cand., University of Tennessee)
17:20 – 18:20"Impermanence, meaning, and natural beauty: a Japanese aesthetic approach"
Samuel Jonathan (MA cand., University of Oklahoma)

 

Day 2 – Saturday, 20.09.2025

9:00 – 10:00"Nature’s meaninglessness, aesthetic experience, and the good life"
Marcello di Paola (Ass. Prof., University of Palermo)
10:00 – 11:00"In praise of humble beauty: a cross-cultural exploration of weeds"
Yuriko Saito (Prof. Em., Rhode Island School of Design)
11:00 – 11:20Coffee Break
11:20 – 12:20"Frugality, humility, and the art of living: a eudaimonic aesthetics of nature"
Elisabetta Di Stefano (Prof., University of Palermo)
12:20 – 14:00Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:00"Nature aesthetics and climate change"
Laura Fumagalli (PhD cand., University of Augsburg / LMU Munich)
15:00 – 16:00"The ‘garbage park’ and the good life: the case of Freshkills Park on Staten Island"
Sandra Shapshay (Prof., Hunter College (CUNY))
16:00 – 16:30Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:30"On feeling at home in the world or should the encounter with natural beauty be a human right?"
Stephanie Schuster (PhD cand., University of Basel)
17:30 – 18:00Final Discussion


Export event as iCal

Back

To top

Quick Links