(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
ONLINE TALK! Zoom link:
https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/92122588367
ABSTRACT: We place agency front-and-center in the aesthetics of science, in particular, in the aesthetics of experiments. We consider how elements of experimental design serve to generate aesthetic experiences in those carrying out the experiment. Our argument is grounded in an analogy between experiments and games (as understood by Suits and Nguyen): both involve artificial practical environments designed to give participants an aesthetic experience of their own agency. We apply the account to Newton’s optical work, and contrast this with contemporary experimental practices, where significantly more ‘experimental distance’ holds between the experimenter and the result. Taking the agency of experimental practice seriously enables a richer account of the role of aesthetic values, sensibilities, and judgments in science. Based on joint work with Adrian Currie and Kirsten Walsh.