Stephanie Schuster
DoktorandinDoktorandin
Doktorandin
Philosophisches Seminar
Steinengraben 5
4051 Basel
Schweiz
Doktorandin
Vita
I studied philosophy, nordic philology, and anthropology at the University of Basel, Icelandic at the University of Iceland, and biogeography at the University of Trier. My MA thesis (philosophy) engages with the literary work of Peter Kurzeck and examines experiences of time in various cases of aesthetic appreciation (Max-Fäh-Award 2019). Since September 2022, I have been working on my PhD thesis «Natural Beauty and the Good Life. Reflections on the Human Condition». My supervisors are Prof. Markus Wild and Prof. Emily Brady. I am a member of the eikones Graduate School and recipient of a SNSF Doc.CH grant.
Research Interests
Aesthetics, Environmental Ethics, The Good Life, Phenomenology of Time, Epistemology, Philosophy of Emotions and Moods, Religion, Nature Writing, Sustainability
Teaching
FS 2022: Die Ästhetik des Erhabenen, University of Basel
HS 2021: Ethik der Zeit, University of Basel
FS 2020: Das Weltbild der Igel: Naturethik einmal anders (with Angelika Krebs, Alexander Fischer, Jan Müller and Yvonne Stocker), University of Basel
HS 2019: Naturethik (with Alexander Fischer), University of Basel
Workshops and Conferences
«Natural Beauty and the Good Life», with Markus Wild. University of Basel, 19.–20.09.2025. Invited speakers: Emily Brady, David E. Cooper, Yuriko Saito, and Sandra Shapshay. Link
«Was von allein wächst, wird weggemacht. Peter Kurzeck und die Natur», with Angelika Krebs, Alexander Fischer, Jan Müller, and Yvonne Stocker. Landgut Castelen, 23.–24.04.2020 (cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Link
Publications
«Von Schönheit und Glück in der Natur», praefaktisch Philosophieblog, 28.10.2025. Link
«Aesthetic Deep Time Experiences of Temporal Sublime Nature», The Polish Journal of Aesthetics 69–70, no. 2–3 (2023), 1–15. Link
«Zeiterleben in der naturästhetischen Erfahrung», Zeitpolitisches Magazin 20/42 (2023), 24–26. Link
Das Weltbild der Igel: Naturethik einmal anders, Angelika Krebs in Zusammenarbeit mit Stephanie Schuster, Alexander Fischer und Jan Müller, Schwabe (2021).
Forthcoming:
«On the Existential Meaning of Natural Beauty», in Hans Maes and Antony Aumann (Eds.): Existential Aesthetics, Bloomsbury (2026).
«On the Nourishing Beauty of Natural Cycles», in Endre Szécsényi and Zoltán Somhegyi (Eds.): Temporality and Existence in Environmental Aesthetic Experience:Abyss of Time, Palgrave (2026).
In Preparation:
«Why Natural Beauty Matters», in Arthur Obst and Linde de Vroey (Eds.): Environmental Ethics Evolves: A Collaborative Introduction, Routledge (2026/2027).
«Wovon erzählen schöne Landschaften?», in David Atwood and Léonard Wiesendanger (Eds.), Edited volume for the symposium: Warum ist Landschaft schön? Wahrnehmung – Ordnung – Bewegung. Spaziergangswissenschaft aus kulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive, May 2026, Kloster Schönthal (2026/2027).
Presentations (selection)
| May 2026 | «Wovon erzählen schöne Landschaften?», symposium «Warum ist Landschaft |
| Jan. 2026 | «Natural Beauty, Education, and Sustainability», workshop «Aesthetics, Education, and Sustainability», 29.–30.01.2026, University of Granada (invited by Henrik Zinkernagel and Ólafur Páll Jónsson). |
| Sept. 2025 | «On Feeling at Home in the World or Should the Experience of Natural Beauty be a Human Right?», workshop «Natural Beauty and the Good Life», 19.–20.09.2025, University of Basel (organized by Stephanie Schuster and Markus Wild). |
| May 2025 | «Natural Beauty, Cyclical Time, and the Good Life», workshop «Abyss of Time: Temporality and Existence in Environmental Aesthetic Experience», 16.–17.05.2025, Eötvos Loránd University, Budapest (invited by Endre Szécsényi and Zoltán Somhegyi). |
| May 2025 | «Glück in der Natur», seminar «Ethik in den Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften», 06.05.2025, University of Basel (invited by Bernice Elger, Stephen Milford, and Johanna Eichinger). |
| Nov. 2024 | «On the Existential Meaning of Natural Beauty», 3rd Swiss Environmental-Animal Ethics Network Meeting, 21.11.2024, University of Fribourg (organized by Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, Markus Wild, Anna Deplazes-Zemp, and Angela Martin). |
| July 2024 | «On the Existential Meaning of Natural Beauty», «Existential Aesthetics: An International Conference», 26.–27.07.2024, Northern Michigan University, Marquette (organized by Hans Maes and Antony Aumann). |
| June 2024 | «Realization and Relation in Aesthetic Experiences of Nature», Nordic Society for Aesthetics (NSAE) Annual Conference, 13.–15.06.2024, Háskóli Íslands, Reykjavik. |
| Dec. 2023 | «Aesthetic Deep Time Experiences of Temporal Sublime Nature», International Society of Environmental Ethics (ISEE) Europe Research Meeting, 06.12.2023, online (Invited by Linde de Vroey). |
| June 2023 | «Adopting Timefulness. The Transformative Potential of Aesthetic Deep Time Experiences», International Institute for Applied Aesthetics (IIAA) XV International Summer Conference, 12.–14.06.2023, Lahti (Finland). |
| Nov. 2022 | «Nature and Time», 1st Swiss Animal-Environmental Ethics Network Meeting, 03.11.2022, Universität Fribourg (organized by Ivo Wallimann-Helmer and Angela Martin). |
| June 2022 | «Experiencing Time in Natural Environments: A Contribution to Environmental Aesthetics», International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE) 19th Annual Summer Meeting, 29.06.–02.07.2022, Seili (Finland). |
| Dec. 2015 | «The Sunset (...) And one Feels it, as if one Glows Away with it Oneself. About Feeling One with Nature», with James Morris, European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions (EPSSE) Conference «The Meaning of Moods», 8.–10.12.2015, Landgut Castelen. |
Science transfer/outreach:
| 2026 | Evening host for the «Lesekreis Landschaft», Lokal für Raumbegehung, Basel (invited by Léonard Wiesendanger). |
| Aug. 2025 | Interview with Marcel Hänggi for a planned publication on the value of natural beauty (based on his Republik-article «Darf man sich um Schönheit sorgen?». Link |
| Jan. 2025 | «Glück in der Natur», presentation at the Zürcher Philosophiefestival, 24.–25.01.2025, Mühle Tiefenbrunnen, Zürich (invited by Urs Siegfried). |
| June 2023 | «Zeiterleben in der naturästhetischen Erfahrung», presentation and interview at the initial session of «Zeitpolitische Gespräche», Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zeitpolitik (DGfZP), 27.06.2023, online (invited by Helga Zeiher). |
| May 2020 | «Werte der Natur», presentation at the Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP) of the FHNW, semester project «StadtKlima – Urbane Szenarien für eine zukunftsfähige Welt», 05/2020, online (invited by Lea Kuhn). |
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