Cultural Heritage and Aesthetics
I’ve found myself wondering why I care about cultural heritage. It’s not because I care about stuff that’s old enough to be considered history. In fact, I tire easily of sentimental discussions about drive-in theatres, old photographs, the barber shop that used to give lollipops to kids, and so on.
It’s not that I don’t care about these things, but it’s that I don’t care about discussions that don’t explain why I should care about them. In other words, I care about why the old barber shop should matter to future generations, not just to the ones who experienced the barber and his lollipops themselves.
I know nothing about the philosophy of aesthetics, but I’ve suspected that why I care about cultural heritage has something to do with the study of aesthetics. But based on the research I’ve conducted in the last three days, I believe that aesthetics is the study of what makes life interesting. To me, cultural heritage is something that makes life interesting.
So far, I haven’t been able to find anyone on Twitter who identifies themselves both as an aesthetician and as an expert in cultural heritage. But I’ve found wonderful examples of people who identify themselves as one or the other: Melissa Mannon, Andrew Taylor, Nina Simon, and Nigel Warburton. Nigel had an interesting post on his blog about how museum curators affect our sense of aesthetics.
I’m hoping I find more on the intersection of cultural heritage and philosophical aesthetics. If you’re aware of any resources, please let me know!
