Article:

Fiktionale Immersion zwischen Ästhetik und Anästhesierung

The text poses the question whether philosophical theories of aesthetic experience may be applied to phenomenas of immersive film reception. Since Adorno, the aspects of reflectivity and emotional distance figure as the dominant and favoured features of aesthetic experience, at least in the context of (German) philosophical aesthetics. This tendency in philosophy reveals a problematic sceptical attitude and even neglection of the aisthetic and carnal aspects in and of aesthetics. That point of view should be critically reexamined. Referring to the American pragmatist John Dewey and his theory of aesthetic experience, especially his notion of ›anaesthetics‹ becomes important. Since Dewey uses this latter term as an antonym of ›aesthetic‹, and given the further fact that immersions always include anaesthetic, perceptual effects, filmic immersion may not be qualified as being a token of aesthetic experience. At least this would not be on par with Dewey's argumentation. In alleged opposition to that, postmodern aesthetics, as represented by the german philosopher Wolfgang Welsch, appreciate the notion of anaesthetics. Welsch argues even in favour of an ›aesthetic of anaesthetic‹. But this claim can be shown to be self-contradictory because even Welsch sticks to an implicit scepticism towards carnality and anaesthetic aspects of perception. To be able to reevaluate the normative function of aistheis for aesthetics, neither Dewey nor Welsch is of any help.