Paleoaesthetics and the Practice of Paleontology (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781108727822)

The practice of paleontology has an aesthetic as well as an epistemic dimension. Paleontology has distinctively aesthetic aims, such as cultivating sense of place and developing a better aesthetic appreciation of fossils. Scientific cognitivists in environmental aesthetics argue that scientific knowledge deepens and enhances our appreciation of nature. Drawing on that tradition, this Element argues that knowledge of something's history makes a difference to how we engage with it aesthetically. This means that investigation of the deep past can contribute to aesthetic aims. Aesthetic engagement with fossils and landscapes is also crucial to explaining paleontology's epistemic successes.

Author: Derek D. Turner
ISBN-10: 1108727824
ISBN-13: 9781108727822
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/24/2019
Pages: 75
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.19d