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Jul 14, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Industrial Aesthetics: A Critique of Taste

Below I have posted the latest in my collection of essays called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Industrial Aesthetics: A Critique of Taste’. The PDF is also available here. ‘Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.’ – William Wordsworth Every individual and every society are enactments of stories we tell ourselves... read more

Jun 28, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Answering Estragon: Art, Godot, and Utopia

Below I have posted the latest in my new collection of essays S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called “Answering Estragon: Art, Godot, and Utopia.” The PDF is also available below. Answering EstragonDownload ‘Vladimir: Say you are, even if it’s not true. Estragon: What am I to say? Vladimir: Say, “I am happy.” Estragon: I am... read more

Jun 28, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Art Against Empire: Marcuse on the Aesthetics of Revolt

Below I have posted the latest in my new collection of essays S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Art Against Empire: Marcuse on the Aesthetics of Revolt.’ The PDF is also available below. Art Against EmpireDownload ‘Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to the changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who... read more

Jun 13, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Making Art While the World Weeps: Political Reflections on Aesthetics

Below I have posted the latest in my collection of essays called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Making Art While the World Weeps: Political Reflections on Aesthetics.’ The PDF of the essay is also available. Making Art While the World WeepsDownload ‘Politics is aesthetic in... read more

Jun 13, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Banish the Poets! The Power and Politics of Aesthetic Education

Below I have posted the latest in my collection of essays called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Banish the Poets! The Power and Politics of Aesthetic Education.’ The PDF is also available below. Banish the PoetsDownload ‘The development of man’s capacity for feeling is… the more urgent need of our... read more

Jun 12, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Bad Faith and the Fear of Freedom: Can Art Shake Us Awake?

Here is the latest in my collection of essays called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Bad Faith and the Fear of Freedom: Can Art Shake Us Awake?’ The PDF is also available below. Bad Faith and the Fear of FreedomDownload ‘Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows what he wants, while he actually wants what he... read more

Jun 6, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Politics of Beauty: Schiller on Freedom and Aesthetic Education

Below I have posted the latest in my new collection of essays called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘The Politics of Beauty: Schiller on Freedom and Aesthetic Education.’ The PDF is also available below. The Politics of BeautyDownload ‘If we are to solve the political problem in practice, [we must] follow the path of aesthetics,... read more

Jun 5, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Giving Birth to Oneself: Ethics as an ‘Aesthetics of Existence’

Below I have posted the latest essay in my new collection, S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Giving Birth to Oneself: Ethics as an “Aesthetics of Existence.”‘ I have also posted the PDF below. Giving Birth to OneselfDownload ‘In our society art has become something which is related to objects, and not to individuals or to... read more

Jun 5, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Homo Aestheticus, the Artful Species: An Evolutionary Perspective

Below I have posted the latest essay in my new collection, S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Homo Aestheticus, the Artful Species: An Evolutionary Perspective.’ I have also posted the PDF below. Homo Aestheticus, the Artful SpeciesDownload ‘What are humans for?’ – Wendell Berry In... read more

Jun 1, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Rescuing Aestheticism from the Dandies: Critical Distinctions

Below I have posted the latest essay in my new collection called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This new essay is called ‘Rescuing Aestheticism from the Dandies: Critical Distinctions’. I’ve also posted the PDF below. The Introduction and the other essays are available from the link above. Rescuing Aestheticism from the DandiesDownload ‘All art is... read more

Jun 1, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Camus on Art and Revolt: Overcoming Nihilism in an Absurd Universe

Below I have posted the latest essay in my new collection called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. This essay is called ‘Camus on Art and Revolt: Overcoming Nihilism in an Absurd Universe.’ The PDF is also available. Camus on Art and RevoltDownload ‘The demands of rebellion are really, in part, aesthetic demands.’ ‘I rebel – therefore... read more

May 28, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

An Aesthetic Justification of Existence: The Redemptive Function of Art

I am continuing to publish my new essays as I finish them. The full collection, called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art, will eventually be posted here. Below I have posted the latest essay, ‘An Aesthetic Justification of Existence: The Redemptive Function of Art.’ The PDF is also available below. An Aesthetic Justification of-ExistenceDownload ‘We... read more

May 28, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Pessimism without Despair: Suffering, Desire, and the Affirmation of Life

I am in the process of publishing a collection of essays on aesthetics called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. In recent days I published the Preface, the Introduction, and the opening two essays, ‘The Cosmos as a “Readymade”: Dignifying the Aesthetic Universe‘ and “Creative Evolution and the Will to Art.” The latest essay, ‘Pessimism... read more

May 22, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Creative Evolution and the Will to Art

I am in the process of publishing a collection of essays on aesthetics called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. In recent days I published the Preface, the Introduction, and the opening essay, ‘The Cosmos as a “Readymade”: Dignifying the Aesthetic Universe.’ Below I post the second of the substantive essays, “Creative Evolution and the Will to... read more

May 21, 2023 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Cosmos as a ‘Readymade’: Dignifying the Aesthetic Universe

I am in the process of publishing a collection of essays on aesthetics called S M P L C T Y: Ecological Civilisation and the Will to Art. In recent days I published the Preface and the Introduction, and below I have posted the first of the substantive essays. The PDF is also available below. The Cosmos as a ReadymadeDownload ‘For the nature of humanity is art. Everything for which there is a... read more

Invitation / Incitation

The Simplicity Collective is founded upon the idea that a 'simpler life' of reduced resource and energy consumption is a viable and desirable alternative to consumer culture.

Our position is that simple living will improve not only our own lives, but the lives of others, as well as help save our planet from the environmental catastrophe towards which we are so enthusiastically marching.

We must not just fall in line, then, and continue the march ‘business as usual.’ We must explore alternative ways to live. We must experiment creatively, like the artist. We must be the poets of our own lives and of a new generation.