We are glad to give notice of the Call for Abstracts Kant and Negative Aesthetics, for the Workshop that will take place on June 6th-7th, 2023, in Pavia. The Workshop is organized by Serena Feloj (Università di Pavia) and João Lemos (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa).

Below you can find the text of the call for papers and the terms for submission.

Keynote Speaker: Anne Pollok (Universität Mainz)
Titles and abstracts (in English) should be sent to: kantaesthetics@gmail.com
Deadline: December 15th, 2022
Length: 500-750 words
Notice of acceptance: January 31st, 2023

Positive aesthetic experiences, especially the pleasurable experience of beauty, undoubtedly play a key role in Kant’s aesthetic theory. Yet, Kantian scholars have also discussed whether his theory possibly entails a negative aesthetics. This workshop will be focused on this very task to investigate into the possibility, benefits, and problems of a Kantian negative aesthetics.
Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts that address any aspect of negative aesthetics in Kant’s philosophy. Although the question of whether there is room for a negative aesthetics in Kant’s aesthetic theory might be addressed from the viewpoint of judgments of the ugly – as it has mostly been addressed so far in the scholarly literature (see, e.g., Allison, Ginsborg, Guyer, Cohen, and Küplen, to name just a few) – discussions that focus on loathsomeness and disgust, as well as contributions that address the topic of negative aesthetics in Kant in relation to other authors, or with an eye to contemporary debates, are also welcome. Accounts that address this topic within the framework of Kant’s critical system are particularly encouraged.
Some of the papers might be selected for publication in the journal estetica. studi e ricerche (rated as “classe A” by the Italian MUR).

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: – disharmony of the faculties
– aesthetic displeasure
– negative judgments of taste
– ugliness, loathsomeness, disgust, the non-beautiful, the indifferent
– negative judgments of taste and Kant’s practical philosophy
– negative judgments of taste in Kant and bad art
– negative judgments of taste in Kant, the ordinary, and everyday aesthetics

Contact: kantaesthetics@gmail.com