Digital Commons@RISD Home > Division of Liberal Arts > Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive) > Vol. 23 (2025)
Abstract
In this essay, I address the issue of future generations according to relational aesthetics. Specifically, I propose a way of feeling and thinking about the future based on a particular mode of perception that stems from relational aesthetics: relational perception. Within this broad context, I propose a perspective that challenges assumptions in expressions such as ‘digital innovation’ and ‘ecological transition.’ Since I believe that relational perception needs to focus on the continuity of becoming, I emphasize the importance of the analogical dimension of thinking, which is currently overshadowed by the digital mindset. Finally, I suggest qualifying the potential of such a relational approach in terms of artisanal intelligence, by which I mean a way of feeling and thinking characterized by attention, care, and skillful improvisation. Relational perception and artisanal intelligence offer an opportunity to think about the future differently, not as a goal to be reached but as a path to be retraced each time, creating new possibilities to cultivate the sustainability of life.