Bence Nanay

Oxford University Press is proud to return to the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival with another series of soap box talks from the very short introductions series.  These free, 15-minute talks feature expert authors from the series and take place twice a day in the Blackwell’s Marquee, next to the Sheldonian Theatre.

Professor Bence Nanay introduces aesthetics, a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of art, beauty, and taste. Looking beyond traditional artistic experiences, he defends the topic from accusations of elitism, and shows how more everyday experiences such as the pleasure in a soft fabric or falling leaves can become the subject of aesthetics. Nanay is BOF Research Professor of Philosophy at the Centre for Philosophical Psychology at the University of Antwerp, and senior research associate at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. He is the director of the European Network for Sensory Research