Emily Brady presents "The Sublime and Wonder"

Emily Brady is the Susanne M. And Melbern G. Glasscock Director and Chair, and Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M. She will be discussing recent work on a comparison of the natural sublime and wonder. She will present her work on Friday, May 14th at noon Pacific Time. The event will begin with a presentation of about 50 minutes followed by an hour long Q&A. See event poster here.

Abstract:  The concepts of the sublime and wonder have a long and significant history in philosophy, literature and the arts, religion, and the history of science. These concepts identify kinds of human attitudes and responses to the natural world and to cultural practices and artefacts. This paper will focus on the contemporary relevance of the sublime and wonder to questions and issues within the context of nature, environment, aesthetics, and religion. I begin with a brief, recent history of aesthetic and religious discussions of sublimity before examining the contemporary sublime in relation to environmental thought and “other-regarding attitudes” toward nature. I then consider recent cross-disciplinary discussions of the varieties of wonder and show how this attitude invites receptivity in relation to the more-than-human world. In the concluding section, I offer a comparison of the sublime and wonder in order to show the different ways in which they may support sympathetic, ethical attitudes toward the environment.

The Department of Philosophy welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. If you would like reasonable accommodations, please contact Macy Salzberger at salzberger@sfsu.edu as soon as possible so your request may be reviewed.