The aesthetic experience of dying
Veronica M. F. Adamson
September 7, 2017 DOI: 10.4324/9781315206486-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that aesthetic experience is not confined to fine art but involves a "free play of cognitive and numinous experience unstructured by concepts," drawing on Kant, William James, and nature, and proposes that varieties of aesthetic experience act as a gateway to "cosmic consciousness." |
Abstract
This chapter focuses on three themes: a life limited by illness, aesthetic experience and the return enhanced. The tension of Jane&s;s dying has been resolved as the rhythmic patterns of the lifeworld have been understood through the process of reflecting on the experience. A more recent sociological interpretation of Kant suggests that the aesthetic experience of cultural objects is characterized by the "free play of cognitive and numinous experience unstructured by concepts". In relation to arts-based research, the impediment to the Kantian interpretation of aesthetic experience which confines it to fine art is challenged. A more spiritual view takes into account both the mystical aspects of the aesthetic alluded to by the philosopher William James and the relevance of nature, concluding with the suggestion that the varieties of aesthetic experience act as a gateway to "cosmic consciousness". To summarise, the phenomenological nature of aesthetic experience implies a sensate focus on an object as an experience felt in a particular way.