Presented at the 2024 CiRCE National Conference: A Contemplation of Prudence.

A great shift in philosophy, and therefore the arts, occurred in the 18th century: art become the free expression of the spirit of the artist. Some even went so far as to claim that art grants consciousness to the divine. In this talk, Katerina will explore what this means for us today, how this impacts the way our students understand themselves, and the role that art plays in teaching us our relationship to the cosmos. That is to say, how art teaches us (or doesn’t teach us) to live prudently.