Towards an ecological aesthetics. theoretical connections and social impact of the relationship between aesthetics and ecology

Abstract

The New European Bauhaus makes Aesthetics, along with Sustainability and Inclusion, one of the three values on which to base the society of the future; a role that is also reiterated in Articulation 3 of the PNRR dedicated to the Great Field of Research and Innovation “Humanistic culture, creativity, social transformation, society of inclusion” and in the UN 2030 Agenda. Building on the awareness that the environmental crisis indicates a rupture in our perceptual/emotional relationship with Nature, this paper aims to show the central role of Aesthetics in promoting green culture in our society. We will highlight the potential of Aesthetics to inspire and motivate, as it can help address ecological issues related to the current environmental crisis. Secondly, we will explore how Aesthetics may contribute to affirming not the superiority of human beings over Nature but their being an integral part of it. In this contribution, we will try to answer these questions, exploring not only the contribution that contemporary Environmental Aesthetics can make at the academic/theoretical level but also the vital role it can play at the community level, or, in other words, the concrete impact it can have, particularly at the high school level.