ABSTRACT
In this book, I explore the ethical transformations that develop from spontaneous responses to Nature, Beauty, and Art. Existential experience, my term for this spontaneous moment, underlies what I consider to be epiphanic change. I do not think that epiphanic change is always preceded by the kinds of experiences about which I speak. Nor do I think that an existential moment such as I describe it always leads to epiphany. It is just that sometimes this does happen, and that is where my interest lies, on those possibly rare, but nonetheless important, moments.
I am going to do this in a way that bring together themes from philosophical phenomenology, recent neuroscience, and psychology and which explore the importance of Nature, Beauty, and Art1 in our lives. I begin with an outline of the theoretical underpinnings, the assumptions I make as I develop my argument. I then introduce and discuss some paradigmatic examples of what I consider to be existential, epiphanic moments. Finally, I return to the idea of human flourishing, its dependence on Nature, Beauty, and Art, and the foundational role played by epiphanic moments.
