More-Than-Human Aesthetics: Venturing Beyond the Bifurcation of Nature.
The book, edited by Melanie Sehgal and Alex Wilkie, marks a inspiring contribution to contemporary debates on aesthetics. The volume challenges the conventional view that aesthetics is a domain reserved for human experience and the arts. Instead, it proposes that aesthetics is a fundamental dimension of existence, shaping both human and non-human worlds. This reorientation draws on Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy and Félix Guattari’s ecological paradigm, both of which critique the modern tendency to divide reality into separate realms of objective matter and subjective value. Anyone interested in rethinking the boundaries between humans, technology, and nature will find this volume insightful and thought-provoking.
Key Takeaways
- Aesthetics shapes both human and non-human worlds, not just art or culture.
- Guattari’s “three ecologies” show how aesthetics connects environment, society, and mind.
- The book challenges the split between objective reality and subjective experience.
- Aesthetics is present in all processes of life, not only in human perception.
- Real-world examples reveal how care and feeling matter in technology and nature.
More-than-human Aesthetics advances a transformative vision for the study of aesthetics by building on Alfred North Whitehead’s protest against the division of nature into separate realms of objective matter and subjective experience (Whitehead, 1967b; Whitehead, 1978). Whitehead’s philosophy calls for freeing aesthetics from the confines of human exceptionalism, arguing that aesthetic experience is not exclusive to humans but is shared with all other inhabitants of the earth (Whitehead, 1967a; Whitehead, 1978). The book takes up this challenge, exploring how recognizing the universality of aesthetic experience could fundamentally reshape our practices and understanding (Sehgal & Wilkie, 2025).
The contributors propose that aesthetics is not a marginal or secondary concern, but a central dimension of existence that permeates both human and non-human worlds. By drawing on Whitehead’s process philosophy (Whitehead, 1978) and Félix Guattari’s ecological paradigm (Guattari, 1995), the volume develops a generalized aesthetic framework that is transversal, processual, and inclusive. Guattari’s concept of the “three ecologies”—environmental, social, and psychical—reinforces the idea that aesthetic processes operate across boundaries, shaping diverse forms of life and experience (Guattari, 1995).
This approach dissolves the traditional bifurcation of nature and insists that experience, feeling, and subjectivity are distributed across all entities (Whitehead, 1967b; Sehgal & Wilkie, 2025). The process of becoming is understood as an aesthetic one, involving patterning, intensification, and rhythm (Whitehead, 1978; Shaviro, 2009). For Whitehead, order itself is grounded in aesthetic criteria (Whitehead, 1978), and for Guattari, affect and care are central to the formation of more-than-human assemblages (Guattari, 1995).
Empirical studies in the book illustrate how aesthetic processes manifest in technoscientific practices, environmental crises, and digital platforms (Sehgal & Wilkie, 2025). These investigations highlight the importance of care, affect, and agency in shaping worlds that are not solely human. The volume also introduces aesthetic figures and conceptual personae—such as the poet and the idiot—that help researchers attune to the speculative possibilities of more-than-human values and practices (Sehgal & Wilkie, 2025).
“Alfred N. Whitehead’s daring protest against the ‘bifurcation of nature’ called for the liberation of aesthetics from human exceptionality. More-Than-Human Aesthetics turns this protest into a compelling multifaceted exploration. How would our practices be transformed if we recognized that none of them can be divorced from an aesthetic experience which humans share with all other inhabitants of the earth?” (Isabelle Stengers, Université Libre de Bruxelles)
More-Than-Human Aesthetics: Venturing Beyond the Bifurcation of Nature, edited by Melanie Sehgal and Alex Wilkie
Why is this relevant for Anthrotopia?
More-Than-Human Aesthetics: Venturing Beyond the Bifurcation of Nature challenges anthropocentric and bifurcated frameworks, advocating for a more inclusive and process-oriented understanding of aesthetics. This perspective is essential for addressing the complexities of our socio-ecological present and for imagining futures that are more just and livable.
The book is a highly recommendable reading for scholars and students in philosophy, design, and the social sciences, especially those interested in aesthetics, ecological thought, and science and technology studies. The book will also appeal to practitioners in environmental humanities, art theory, and interdisciplinary research, as well as professionals engaged in sustainability, policy-making, and innovation who seek to understand the broader implications of aesthetic experience in shaping human and non-human worlds
References:
- Guattari, F. (1995). Chaosmosis: An Ethico-Aesthetic Paradigm. Indiana University Press.
- Sehgal, M., & Wilkie, A. (Eds.). (2025). More-than-human Aesthetics: Venturing Beyond the Bifurcation of Nature. Dis-Positions Series. Bristol University Press.
- Shaviro, S. (2009). Without Criteria: Kant, Whitehead, Deleuze, and Aesthetics. MIT Press.
- Whitehead, A. N. (1967a). Adventures of Ideas. Free Press.
- Whitehead, A. N. (1967b). Science and the Modern World. Free Press.
- Whitehead, A. N. (1978). Process and Reality. Free Press.
