If we find something beautiful in the ‘natural’ world, what is the experience that follows it? Conversely, if we were to find something ‘ugly’, then what would the implication be of such dualising judgments? Do we indulge in conservation, in activism premised on the meaning the aesthetic object creates for us? What does, for instance, the image of the olive tree in Palestine evoke within us today? These are questions which the presenter locates in the realm of ecological aesthetics, and enquiries which this presentation undertakes. Welcome to the Home of Wisdom Coffee Conversations to learn and discuss!
An Introduction to Ecoaesthetics- Theorising from Treatises and Praxis, in the Context of India
Ecoaesthetics as a field has taken ‘ecological knowledge' of some form, especially the scientific kind, as key to passing valid aesthetic judgements within nature. Along with environmental aesthetics, which enquires about the nature of aesthetic experience in the context of ‘environments’, it forms a key part of the larger discourse in Environmental Humanities, and a way of considering how anthropogenic climate changes might fundamentally alter the nature of aesthetic experience in a whole host of contexts.
This presentation introduces what a certain theory of Indian ecoaesthetics would entail. It starts with the rasa theory of the Natyashastra, often translated as a theory of taste or emotion, from classical Indian aesthetics which has an intricate exposition on the nature and structure of aesthetic experience. I then engage with the problematics of hierarchies in the classical practices of art in India, the aesthetic valuing of which is often judged through the rasa theory, and being weary of their influence on a theorising for ecoaesthetics. I finally suggest a premising of such theorising on the interactive relation between theory and practice, and argue for a reliance and learning from both classical Indian aesthetic theory, as well as the manifold implications for ecoaesthetics from the rich history of peoples environmental movements in India.
About the presenter
Anish Mishra is pursuing a PhD in Humanities (Philosophy and Religion) in the Division of Humanities, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He is specializing in the field of Environmental and Ecological Aesthetics, and is interested in taking a comparative, collaborative and applied approach to his work grounded in decolonial praxis. His research adds an Indian Aesthetic and Buddhist Environmental perspective to these fields while accommodating for a multitude of epistemologies, and focuses on problematizing anthropocentric Climate Change through it. Anish also has a personal love for trees and especially those in ‘urban’ spaces, forever in awe of the transformative effects they have on everything around them.
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We encourage you to take a moment away from your desk and participate on-site at the Home of Wisdom within the C-building, where coffee and tea will be served. However, remote participation is also possible. You are warmly welcome to join the event either way!
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