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Arnold Berleant and the International Institute of Applied Aesthetics
Introduction to the Panel Discussion
Arto Haapala
The city of Lahti was probably one of the most unlikely places in which one would plan to establish a scholarly institute specialized in aesthetics. In the 1990s, Lahti had a rather rough reputation; it used to be called the “Chicago of Finland,” referring to the relatively high crime rate. Lahti was not known for its academic achievements, although there was a design school for practicing designers and a summer university organizing occasional courses on various topics, including aesthetics.
It was due to some local activists, interested in aesthetics, who were able to convince representatives of established academic institutions, such as the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Society of Aesthetics, that Lahti was the place for an institute specializing in the applied aspects and possibilities of philosophical aesthetics. Finally, a decisive factor was the commitment of the city of Lahti to financially support the institute. Officially, the International Institute of Applied Aesthetics (IIAA) was founded in 1993. The first major event in which the IIAA was involved was the 13th World Congress of Aesthetics in August 1995. It took place in Lahti. The very first Summer Conference—or Summer School as these events earlier were called—was organized immediately after the World Congress. The topic was “Nature and Man-Made Environment.”
Arnold Berleant took part in the first Summer Conference, and he has been actively involved in the activities of the IIAA ever since. He has been Chair of the International Advisory Board of the IIAA and has taken part in the IIAA conferences on a regular basis. It is more than appropriate that the IIAA organized a panel discussion on Berleant’s work in the 2025 Summer Conference—thirty years after the concept of the Summer Conference was launched. The 2025 conference is the 16th Summer Conference, and the general topic is “Experiencing Environments – Human Perspectives in the Changing World.” Many of Berleant’s key concepts fit nicely with the title of the conference. There certainly is a very strong human perspective in his work, and the concept of experience is closely connected with perhaps the most influential of Berleant’s ideas: aesthetic engagement with arts and environments.
Berleant has developed the notion of engagement in many of his writings, most notably in Art and Engagement (1991) and The Aesthetics of Environment (1992). These two books have been and still are a source of inspiration for many scholars and students working in aesthetics. I personally think that “engagement” captures a crucial phenomenon in our dealings with the arts and different kinds of environments. However, it is a multi-faceted notion; engagements can be of very different kind—perceptual, physical, imaginary. In Berleant’s work, the emphasis has been on perceptual engagement.
There are many other ideas and concepts that should be mentioned when assessing Berleant’s influence. However, I restrict myself to two, pointing to the beginning of his philosophical career and his most recent publications.
In 1970, Berleant published a book entitled The Aesthetic Field: A Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience. There has been a renewed interest in this very early work by Berleant, and some of my own students have found the idea of aesthetic field and used it in their studies. This book deserved to be recovered.
In 2023, Berleant published a collection of essays entitled The Social Aesthetics of Human Environments: Critical Themes. There is a very nice essay in the collection with the title, “Getting Along Beautifully: Ideas for a Social Aesthetics.” The idea of social aesthetics, the relevance of aesthetic considerations in human interactions, has also gained increasing interest among scholars and students. It is an important concept, and I am delighted to see this essay republished; it originally was published in an IIAA series publication, Aesthetics in the Human Environment (1999).
Berleant’s contribution to the success of the International Institute of Applied Aesthetics has been important. Not only his philosophical work, inspirational for many scholars in Finland, but also his international connections have benefited the activities of the IIAA. For these reasons, and for many others, we, the organizers of the 16th Summer Conference of the IIAA, decided to put together a panel on his work, and Arnold Berleant graciously agreed to take part in it and to reply to the comments of the three panelists. I am delighted that Contemporary Aesthetics has agreed to publish the contributions of the panel.
As the chair of the panel, I want to warmly thank Arnold and all three panelists, Fotini, Harri and Max, for their contributions and for excellent collaboration. I also want to thank Yuriko Saito for giving space in Contemporary Aesthetics to the written versions of the papers of the panel.
Arto Haapala
arto.haapala@helsinki.fi
Arto Haapala has been Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Helsinki since 1995. He received his PhD at the University of London. He has been a visiting professor at several European universities and in the United States. He is the former president of the Finnish Society of Aesthetics and the Nordic Society of Aesthetics. He is the president of the board of the International Institute of Applied Aesthetics based in Lahti and in Helsinki, Finland.
His research topics include philosophy of literature, Martin Heidegger’s philosophy, environmental aesthetics, especially aesthetics of urban environments, and everyday aesthetics. Additionally, he has written on various other issues related to philosophical aesthetics. He has authored and edited thirteen books and around eighty articles. He is the cofounder and former co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology (Routledge).
Published on November 14, 2025.
Cite this article, Arto Haapala, “Arnold Berleant and the International Institute of Applied Aesthetics
Introduction to the Panel Discussion,” Contemporary Aesthetics, Volume 23 (2025), accessed date.