What does it mean to experience beauty? Where does our taste for the beautiful come from? We often think some things are inherently beautiful - from a Botticelli to the Niagara Falls. But Philosopher Bence Nanay argues that our perception of beauty is purely a function of our cultural background. Nevertheless, he posits that we can find a universal definition of beauty, offering a radical new direction for the field of aesthetic appreciation.

By the end of the course, you will have learnt:

• How our cultural backgrounds influence our taste in art.
• Why our current model for aesthetic appreciation is problematic.
• A fresh vision for how we should view artworks.
• A radical new way of understanding beauty which cuts through cultural differences.

IAI Academy courses are designed to be challenging but accessible to the interested student. No specialist knowledge is required.

Bence Nanay

Bence Nanay is Professor of Philosophy and BOF Research Professor at the University of Antwerp and has worked as a film critic. He's written several books on aesthetics, perception and action, including Aesthetics: A very short introduction.

• Nanay, B., Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).
• Danto, A. C., The Transfiguration of the Commonplace: A Philosophy of Art, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981).
• Kant, I., Critique of Judgment, translated by W. S. Pluhar, (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1987).
• Hume, D., Of the Standard of Taste, in Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1987).
• Berleant, A., Aesthetics and Environment: Variations on a Theme, (Surrey: Ashgate, 1997).
• Zangwill, N., Aesthetic Creation, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
• Carroll, N., Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction, (London: Routledge, 1999).