Beyond The Finite: The Sublime In Art And Science

Beyond The Finite: The Sublime In Art And Science

Synopsis

There are many sublimes. In the eighteenth century, the sublime was summoned to address an object that existed beyond reason and measure. Terror, the spontaneous psychophysical response to mountainous landscapes or great cataracts, gave way to delight as our powers of reason were summoned to re-assert the power of the human mind over nature. For the twentieth century, the sublime emotion exists within the realm of representation yet resists rational appropriation. This complex aesthetic category offers a fruitful meeting ground of art and science. Through contributions from nine prominent scholars, this book argues that the best of science makes genuine claims to the sublime. The explorations within Beyond the Finite range from the images taken by the Hubble Telescope to David Bohm's quantum romanticism, from Kant and Burke to a "downward spiraling infinity" of the twenty-first century sublime. Squarely positioned at the interface between science and art, this volume captures a remarkable variety of perspectives, with neuroscience, chemistry, astronomy, physics, film, painting, and music--all illuminating the sublime experience.

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