In ancient times, astonishment was considered the beginning of all philosophizing. Nowadays, it is mainly children who still find many things amazing. Apart from that, the modern demystification of the world seems to have driven amazement out of us. So has amazement fallen victim to historical and biographical enlightenment? Or is there also an enlightened, adult amazement?
About the person
Nicola Gess, born in 1973, is Professor of Modern German and General Literature at the University of Basel. She has previously lived, studied and taught in Berlin and Princeton, among other places. In addition to literary and cultural sociological topics, her research focuses intensively on questions of aesthetics. Her publications include “Halbwahrheiten. On the Manipulation of Reality” (2021) and “Staunen. A poetics” (2019).