HON-150 Philosophy of the Sublime : the AwesomThis course is a historical introduction to the concept of the sublime , or the ' awesome '. The sublime , a feeling of great exhilaration , excitement , or awe , is a positive aesthetic experience in response to a vast or powerful object , or one that appears vast or powerful . Traditional examples of sublime objects , or things that evoke the feeling , are waterfalls , icebergs , raging storms , deep ravines , mountains ( Rockies , Alps , Himalayas ), and perhaps some works of art ( land art , film , poetry , fiction ). As " disinterested ," the experience of the sublime is not to be identified with fear ; as an intense feeling or " affect " ( emotion ), the sublime is to be distinguished from wonder and curiosity . Can the sublime be evoked by art and nature alike , or only one of these ? How is it distinguished from beauty ? How is it connected to , and different from , the ' moral feeling '? What causes it from a psychological or scientific point of view ? We will examine the theory of the sublime from its roots in Longinus ' s rhetorical theory , through the British and German traditions , concluding with the perspective of contemporary thinkers ( Lyotard , Danto ) and neuroscience . Students will read and respond to canonical ' sublime ' texts ( fiction , poetry ), react to works of art
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