This essay explores the aesthetics of solar landscapes in the framework of a broader investigatio... more This essay explores the aesthetics of solar landscapes in the framework of a broader investigation about the concept of landscape and its semantic richness. The article consists of four paragraphs. In the first, the terms territory and landscape are introduced to properly distinguish between disputes over land use and landscape perception. The second paragraph reflects on energy landscapes as particular cases of cultural landscapes that are typical of modernity and are generally not associated with positive aesthetic values. After a brief examination of the aesthetic issues related to energy landscapes in general, the third paragraph deals specifically with solar landscapes and offers a philosophical commentary on part of today's literature, which is mainly drawn from the fields of energy economics and landscape planning. Finally, in the fourth paragraph, I will show that energy and solar landscapes also deserve attention from an aesthetic point of view: Although they are unavoidable from a territorial point of view, they still need to be socially and aesthetically accepted to be fully realised as full-fledged landscapes.
The aim of this article is to show how a Ricœurian approach to space and place is likely to raise... more The aim of this article is to show how a Ricœurian approach to space and place is likely to raise issues about geography and even cartography, rather than just ontological topology in a Heideggerian fashion. Two steps will lead towards that conclusion: the first concerns the role of Ricœur’s long détour in the transition from a transcendental—therefore empty—notion of place to the concrete plurality of places, which turns them into matters for interpretation; the second shows how the task of interpreting of places implies distanciation and even objectification, through which they are constituted as objects of scientific and critical investigation. Maps will be introduced at that point as specific interpretations of places, halfway between text and images, between the subject and the object, and between science and art.
The morphological account of landscape aims to overcome the contrast between an objectivist/scien... more The morphological account of landscape aims to overcome the contrast between an objectivist/scientific account of space and the more qualitative/subjective account of place. It does so by actualizing the notion of landscape, which endows a materiality often overlooked in contemporary spatial theories. In this paper, I will discuss what has been called the ‘space-place conundrum’ by referring mostly to the human geography contemporary debate on space and place. In the following, I will retrieve Carl Sauer’s morphological conception of landscape as an alternative framework aimed at rephrasing both the concepts of space and place. Landscape must be freed from the cage of the aesthetic gaze so that it can be understood as a lived and dynamic complex of interacting forms that encompass the embodied subject. In the end, I will outline the main characteristics of a morphological conception of landscape, paving the way for further inquiries.
The aim of my paper is to put Ricœur’s philosophy in dialogue with human geography. There are at ... more The aim of my paper is to put Ricœur’s philosophy in dialogue with human geography. There are at least two good reasons to do so. The first concerns the epistemological foundation of geography: Whereas humanistic or phenomenological geographers inspired by Heidegger or, to a lesser extent, by Merleau-Ponty have sometimes taken on an anti-scientific approach, the Ricœurian articulation of understanding and explanation may contribute to building a bridge between the experiential side of place-meanings and the scientific explanations of spatial elements and their relationships. The second reason has to do with the application of the Ricœurian “model of the text” to landscape: It is a direction that Ricœur never explicitly took, but it is worth exploring, especially considering that “landscape as a text” was quite a popular metaphor among human geographers in the 1980s and 1990s. In this paper I will discuss both issues in order to outline a “Ricœurian path to geography,” which, while n...
This paper aims to show the connection between space, place and subjectivity. According to how we... more This paper aims to show the connection between space, place and subjectivity. According to how we conceive space, place and their relations, it is possible to affirm a certain understanding of what has been called "the subject" in the framework of Cartesian, Kantian and Husserlian legacies. Quantitative geography takes the transcendental subject-characterized by a methodical detachment from its environment, constituted as an opposite object-for granted. Many and various reactions to this subject-object model can be traced within the social sciences (and within human geography in particular) in the last four decades. In this paper I propose an overview of these reactions and then provide a new conceptual articulation for them, based on the kind of subjectivity they assume. I have identified three overarching patterns, or meta-theories: one ontological, one critical and one phenomenological.
This article explores the concept of landscape through the lens of performativity, challenging th... more This article explores the concept of landscape through the lens of performativity, challenging the traditional visual-centric understanding rooted in Western art and culture but without denying the visual and representational character of landscape. It examines the evolution of landscape representation, from its origins in linear perspective and Cartesian dualism to contemporary approaches that integrate performative practices. The analysis highlights the dialectical tension between visual representation and immersive, multisensory experiences, arguing for a more integrated view that acknowledges the performative aspects of the visual. By re-evaluating the role of distance, vision, and representation, the article advocates for a nuanced understanding of landscape that balances the visual with embodied practices, ultimately proposing that landscape should be seen as a dynamic interplay between seeing and performing.
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Papers by Paolo Furia