The question of the nature of aesthetic experience has accompanied philosophy since its very beginnings. Some have seen in it a divine element, while others have it as subjective and context-dependent. Today, this issue returns with renewed intensity. Jean Baudrillard argued that if we are unable to be ethical, we at least want to be aesthetic. This prompts reflection on how interpretations of what we see influence relations of power and whether aesthetics has become a contemporary tool of control.

This question can be broadened further by asking whether the mere presence or absence of something may contribute to the construction of hierarchies within our system of values and, ultimately, within dominant narratives. This leads to the problem of the very essence of the study of beauty. Is contemporary aesthetics, in and of itself, always political?

If these issues are of interest to you, we invite you to attend a lecture delivered by students of sociology, philosophy, and psychology on beauty as a tool of power, its history, mechanisms, and consequences.

moderators: Hubert Banach, Piotr Ginda, Antonina Harasimowicz

Academic consultant: Dr. Łukasz Rogowski, AMU Professor Michał Wendland

The event is organized in cooperation with the Faculty of Sociology and Philosophy of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań and includes a guest speaker from SWPS University.

photo Hubert Banach