Introduction. Foucault’s Aesthetics of Existence and Shusterman’s Somaesthetics: Ethics, Politics, and the Art of Living

Michel Foucault’s aesthetics of existence and Richard Shusterman’s somaesthetics can be probably considered as two of the most important and most inluential philosophical conceptions of the late twentieth century and early twenty-irst century. hanks to their openness, their interdisciplinary character, their strong focus on the central role played by the body in human experience, and also their capacity to overcome the sad narrowness of certain academic limitations (and, vice versa, their capacity to proitably intersect diferent concepts and ields), both Foucauldian aesthetics of existence and Shustermanian somaesthetics have proved to be able to ofer a complex and stimulating framework for the investigation of various philosophical topics, ranging from aesthetic questions to existential, ethical, social, and political problems. he present collection aims to inquire into both the ainities and diferences between Foucault’s and Shusterman’s philosophical approaches.