Half Inside and Half Outside
Kick-off for the event series beyond liking (live) on July 7th, 2021.
Methods, paradigms, hypotheses, variables—when we talk about empirical research, we mostly have keywords like these in mind. But what about when we leave that familiar scientific terrain? The blog “beyond liking,” launched at the beginning of the year, illuminates the work of the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics from a different perspective: Connected to the Institute but independent of it, it encourages thinking outside of the usual (inter-)disciplinary boxes.
“beyond liking” provides a forum for researchers working in the various disciplines of the Institute to meet and explore and discuss ideas outside the framework of their existing collaborations. Both members of the Institute and the public are invited to take part in this conversation, which is concerned less with reproducing the scientific field of empirical aesthetics than with understanding what it is—and what it can be—in part by seeing what it looks like from outside. The blog itself attempts to navigate this fine line around the perimeter of the field, half inside and half outside.
The blog now also complements the Institute’s new event series “beyond liking (live).” This series, which in the future will take place in library of the Institute, aims to promote an open public conversation about empirical aesthetics, especially between students. Due to the current situation, the first installment will take place as a Zoom event on July 7, 2021, beginning at 7:00 p.m.