Diverse philosophies constitute the theoretical ground of the study of the aesthetic side of organization. In fact, there is not a single unique philosophy behind the organizational research of the aesthetic dimension of organizational life. Organizational Theory and Aesthetic Philosophies will illustrate and discuss this complex phenomenon, and it will be dedicated to highlight the philosophical basis of the study of aesthetics, art and design in organization.
The book distinguishes three principal "philosophical sensibilities" amongst these philosophies: aesthetic, hermeneutic and performative philosophical sensibility. Each of them is described and critically assessed through the work of philosophers, art theorists, sociologists and social scientists who represent its main protagonists. In this way, the reader will be conducted through the variety of philosophies that constitute a reference for aesthetics and design in organization.
The architecture of the book is articulated in two parts in order to provide student and scholars in philosophical aesthetics, in art, in design and in organization studies with an informative and agile instrument for academic research and study.
PART I: Philosophy and Organizational Aesthetics
- Relevance of Philosophical Aesthetics in Organization Studies
- Organizational Lens, Art Photography and Creation Process
- Art, Everyday Aesthetics and Organizational Theory
- Aesthetic Philosophy and the Aesthetic Approach
- Practice and the Italian Aesthetic Philosophies
- Aesthetic, Hermeneutic and Performative Sensibility
Polysemy, Mystery, Intensity
Tacit Dimension of Knowing and Aesthetics
The sublime and the Categories of Aesthetics
Philosophy and the Aesthetic Study of Organization
Interlude I: Poetry as manifesto N.2
Let’s Give a Chance to the Walls
No Detail is Insignificant in Art Photography
Perception and the Materiality of the Image’s Virtual Body
Interlude II: Designing the bottle to own its water
Photography as a Metaphor of Organizational Aesthetics
Philosophy of Art, that’s the Problem
Art and Aesthetics in Eastern and Western Recent Philosophy
Interlude III: Homage to Gaspare Traversi
PART II: Three Philosophical Sensibilities
Fundamental Characteristics of the Aesthetic Approach
Phenomenological and Post-Humanistic Awareness
Interlude IV: Riviera Mediterranea
Formativeness and the Aesthetic Approach
Practice as a Trait of Italian Philosophical Aesthetics
Interlude V: La dame, la licorne et le miroir
Aesthetic Sensibility
Hermeneutic and Performative Sensibilities
Giving Form: Philosophical Sensibilities and Organizational Theory
Interlude VI: Homage to Niki de Saint Phalle
Epilogue: Playing with Philosophical Aesthetics to Understand Organization
Biography
Antonio Strati is a senior professor of sociology of innovation and organization at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Trento, Italy, and chercheur associé at i3-CRG, École polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, France.
"The gentle way this book talks to us hints at the potential role of education in furthering the philosophical aesthetics of organizing. This kind of aesthetics philosophy, one more as education and practice than as research and theory, is what emerges forcefully from the friendly reunion of Dr. Strati with Mr. Antonio." --Pierre Guillet de Monthoux, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, published in Organization Studies
"Good books often offer no more than a single deep insight. Excellent books offer multiple insights, and great ones many more. By that standard, Strati’s little book (only 181 pages, including index) is excellent." --Paul C. Godfrey, Brigham Young University, USA, published in Administrative Science Quarterly
