Curtis Carter (Marquette University)
Abstract. My topic for discussion will address a particular issue: the role of garden as a symbolic link between nature and urban environments. Garden is one of the elements that significantly enhances the aesthetics of a city environment. Yet this element has received relatively little attention in philosophical aesthetic theory. This topic is intended as one small step toward addressing the aesthetic possibilities of a city environment. The problems centering on the relation of city to nature are a subject in need of further investigation as cultures across the world including China undergo the technological transformations from rural to urban life. How will these changes affect the future role of aesthetics? The question is of particular interest in places such as China where traditional aesthetics is grounded in nature.