The American Society for Aesthetics held its Eastern Division meeting on April 7th and 8th at the Best Western Independence Park Inn in Old City Philadelphia. About 60 people from all over the country as well as from Canada, Britain, Germany, Spain, and Finland attended the meeting. Robert Fudge (Weber State University) and Saam Trivedi (Brooklyn College) served as Program Co-Chairs.

The program for the meeting was both rich and varied. It featured sessions on standard topics in aesthetics such as definitions of art, interpretation, ontology, art and value, literature, and the performing arts. Additionally, the program had several sessions on topics seldom discussed at ASA meetings such as photography, cross-cultural aesthetics, environmental aesthetics, continental aesthetics, and neuroaesthetics.

On the evening of Saturday, April 8th, Alan Goldman (College of William and Mary) delivered the plenary lecture on “The Experiential Account of Aesthetic Value,” which was followed by a lively reception. On the prior evening, many conference participants took advantage of the extended opening hours of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see its permanent collection and the Andrew Wyeth exhibition.

Robert Fudge and Saam Trivedi will again organize next year’s meeting, to be held at the same location in Philadelphia on April 13th and 14th. The plenary speaker for next year’s meeting is Robert Stecker (Central Michigan University).

Robert Fudge
Saam Trivedi