This essay aims at providing a brief analysis of John Dewey’s 1896 essay The reflex arc concept in psychology by identifying in it “proto-aesthetic” elements that will be thematized in an explicitly aesthetic sense only, almost forty years later, in Art as experience. This latter can be indeed considered both as a hapax and an apex of a path in which Dewey progressively focuses on matters that can be deemed properly aesthetic and of which The reflex arc concept in psychology (...) can be seen as one of the first steps. Our analysis will attempt at showing this connection by spanning the reflex arc idea, amended by Dewey in this essay, and that of “an” experience as a proper aesthetic experience through the fundamental concept of coordination. (shrink)

In this paper, after a brief historical overview, we will make a programmatic and paradigmatic comparison through analogy, between cartography and design. These two subjects both share three fundamental characteristics: a captivating appearance, usefulness, and also are ubiquitous in everyday life. This is particularly evident nowadays in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets that are featured with a touchscreen technology. The paradigmaticity of such a comparison stands in the planning, and organizational quality, common to the two above mentioned subject (...) areas. We will maintain that such a quality creates new aesthetics horizons, made possible as a result of great usability, functionality and interactivity. These features are achieved through the interdisciplinary cooperation between a careful design activity and a formal organization of symbols. These materialize into what we claim to be the «pass key» to this new kind of aesthetic experience rooted in the everyday and marked by immediacy: the interface. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the notion of experience, whose conceptual analysis seems to be often neglected or at least not sufficiently made explicit in the current discourse on Everyday Aesthetics. In our investigation this notion will be tackled, in particular, through the lens of such concepts as Erlebnis, Erfahrung, and Lebenswel t, which are drawn from the continental philosophical tradition. Purpose of the paper is to present a provisional framework aimed at clarifying that a more accurate conceptualization of experience allows (...) for a better contemporary reflection on the aesthetics of everyday life. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the notion of experience, whose conceptual analysis seems to be often neglected or at least not sufficiently made explicit in the current discourse on Everyday Aesthetics. In our investigation this notion will be tackled, in particular, through the lens of such concepts as _Erlebnis, Erfahrung_, and _Lebenswel_t, which are drawn from the continental philosophical tradition. Purpose of the paper is to present a provisional framework aimed at clarifying that a more accurate conceptualization of experience allows for (...) a better contemporary reflection on the aesthetics of everyday life. (shrink)