Abstract
This paper investigates the ontological shift from representation to constitution within contemporary visual culture. It explores the hypothesis that modernity’s discursively shaped subjectivity is transforming into a visually enacted presence, shifting reality from narrative to immediacy, where images no longer represent but actively constitute being. On the crossroads of philosophical aesthetics, ontology, anthropology, and theological perspectives, the paper critically examines the concept of homo aestheticus, a subject appearing as an apparition within the contemporary visual realm rather than a knowing agent. It analyzes the dissolution of boundaries between reality and appearance and the dispersion of subjectivity across digital and algorithmic landscapes. This paper questions whether homo aestheticus signifies the final subject of modernity or inaugurates a new epoch characterized by the inseparable collapse of seeing and being. Its findings illuminate significant ontological and anthropological implications for understanding human existence in a visually dominated world.
Presenters
Zane OzolaPhD, Scientific Assistant, Department of Philosophy and Ethics, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—From Democratic Aesthetics to Digital Culture
KEYWORDS
Picture, Image, Visuality, Aesthetics, Ontology, Presence, Anthropology, Theology
