In this final episode of the Contested Territories series, Arthur Danto, Thierry de Duve, and Richard Shusterman engage in a spontaneous and often provocative dialogue that moves beyond formal presentations into direct philosophical exchange.

Topics range from Pop Art and religious metaphors in aesthetic theory to institutional critique, embodied meaning, and the politics of aesthetic judgment. The conversation—at times humorous, at times deeply reflective—offers rich insight into each thinker’s position, as well as the points of divergence and unexpected overlaps between them.

With references to Kant, Duchamp, Warhol, Rap Music, and even Zen aesthetics, the discussion tracks how notions of art, value, and aesthetic legitimacy have shifted in response to changing cultural conditions.

In this episode of the Contested Territories series, Richard Shusterman offers a compelling alternative to both Danto’s Artworld approach and de Duve’s theoretical framing by reasserting the primacy of aesthetic experience—not as detached contemplation, but as embodied practice ultimately grounded in the aesthetics of everyday life.

Reflecting on the philosophical limits of traditional Anglo-American aesthetics, Shusterman revisits Pop Art, popular culture, and his own personal journey through analytic philosophy and pragmatism. Drawing from his influential work in somaesthetics, he challenges the metaphysical separation between art and reality, arguing for a model of art that enhances how we live, feel, and relate to the world around us.

His talk opens the door for a philosophy of art that is less about institutional recognition and more about cultivating human flourishing—offering a vision of cultural engagement that bridges theory, politics, and lived experience.

In this episode of the Contested Territories series, Thierry de Duve presents a powerful rethinking of modern aesthetics through his work on Kant after Duchamp. Speaking from a deeply personal trajectory—from his early days as a design student in Ulm to his critical encounters with Pop Art and Duchamp’s Readymades—de Duve unpacks the transformation of aesthetic judgment in modern and postmodern art.

Positioned between Danto and Shusterman in both age and perspective, de Duve explores how objects once seen as non-art (such as urinals and Brillo boxes) came to challenge not only institutional authority but also philosophical criteria for what art is. He proposes a critical shift from art as object to art as discursive judgment, emphasizing the spectator’s role in legitimizing aesthetic claims.

Blending historical analysis and political edge, this talk revisits the philosophical implications of modernism, pluralism, and aesthetic responsibility—reminding us that the Artworld is not just a realm of objects, but of contested claims.