Aesthetics of Weather - by Madalina Diaconu (Hardcover)

About the Book

Original and impressively broad in it scope, this is the first book to fully explore the aesthetics of weather in a detailed and nuanced manner.

Book Synopsis

In an age of rife consumption and increasing need for consideration of sustainable social practices, an exploration of the aesthetics of weather from various angles becomes vital in shedding light on its importance to our experience of the changing world.

In response, offering the first in-depth and nuanced examination of the aesthetics of weather, this book underlines the relevance the concept has for scientific communication, for fostering sustainable patterns of behaviour and for rejecting the environmentally-damaging "consumption" of landscapes and fine weather. In addition, it provides examples taken from global, contemporary popular culture whilst calling attention to the socioeconomic and political dimensions of individual experience, demonstrating and analysing our fascination with, and cultural interpretations of, weather phenomena in our everyday lives.

Within its three sections, the volume reinvents traditional phenomenological methods to create socially, politically and historically embedded 'phenomenographies' and explore the importance of aesthetic practices in shaping our experience of weather and climate. It also provides a deeper engagement with general topics, such as the relationship between perception, emotion, imagination, and cognition in our aesthetic experience of the weather, combining these with aesthetic analyses of the so-called "fine weather".

With its broad scope of inquiry ranging from Aristotle to eco-phenomenology, from the pioneers of scientific meteorology to contemporary art, and from everyday aesthetics to geoengineering, this book argues that an aesthetics of weather inflected by greater knowledge and the taking of a critical stance towards aestheticism can become a valuable ally to climate ethics in the Anthropocene.

Review Quotes

"This ground-breaking study takes us on a mesmerizing journey into, above, below, around, and through the all-too-familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar, weatherworld. Diaconu's probing and thought-provoking exploration, informed by meticulous research on diverse disciplines, practices, and cultural traditions, will forever change our experience of the air, weather, and celestial phenomena." --Yuriko Saito, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Rhode Island School of Design, USA

"As a result of a multidisciplinary aesthetic approach and the brilliant analysis of various cases studies (wind, tornadoes, contemporary art, etc.), Diaconu's book is a significant step forward in the field of atmospheric studies and ethics of environmental responsibility." --Tonino Griffero, Full Professor of Aesthetics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

About the Author

Madalina Diaconu is Associate Professor at the University of Vienna, Austria. She is also a member of the editorial boards of Contemporary Aesthetics, Studia Phaenomenologica, and polylog. Zeitschrift für interkulturelles Philosophieren, of which she was formerly Editor-in-Chief. She has authored ten books and co-edited twelve collective volumes on aesthetics, environmental ethics, the phenomenology of touch, smell and taste, and urban sensescapes.