The European Society for Aesthetics was founded in 2008 at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), where it has been based ever since.
The goal has been to establish the ESA as one of the main research and communication platforms for people interested in aesthetics, with a special focus on aesthetics in Europe.
More specifically, the aim is to promote philosophical and other academic research and teaching in aesthetics and the theory of art, and in particular to encourage exchange between those pursuing these activities in different parts of Europe, and in the diverse traditions that European aesthetics involves.
In particular, the ESA aims:
- To distribute information about the activities of national and regional societies for aesthetics in Europe;
- To organise regular international conferences and meetings for the discussion of topics in aesthetics;
- To publish, or help with the publication of, high quality research in aesthetics done by European researchers.
The ESA Essay Prize for PhD students and early career researchers was launched in 2017 in memory Fabian Dorsch, a co-founder and a first secretary of the European Society for Aesthetics. Its former winners include Irene Martínez Marín (2019), Mark Windsor (2018), and Servaas van der Berg (2017).
If you would like to get involved, please contact us or join the ESA.
You may also want to take a look at the statutes of the ESA.