Alpine Thinking

In the 1950s, Albert Camus coined the term «pensée de midi» to describe a mode of thought that is fundamentally shaped by the experiential qualities of the environment in which it arises. Camus sees this «mediterranean thinking» as the source of a philosophy of moderation that allows one to avoid settling into one-sidedness, but rather to remain in the «light of noon» and resist the pull of one-sided convictions. How, then, might one characterize an «alpine way of thinking» – analogous to «mediterranean thinking» – and what philosophical stance would such a way of thinking embody?

The «Alpine Thinking» project explores these questions and aims to conceptualize specific environmental qualities in the Alpine region. The goal is to use aesthetic case studies in selected fields of practice within the Alpine-specific human-mountain relationship (alpinism, agriculture, architecture) to explore whether and what impulses «Alpine Thinking» offers for the development of a capacity for correspondence in engaging with the natural and cultural environments of the Alpine region.

The project is part of the «Alpine Futures Literacy» research area and is conducted in cooperation with the «Postdisciplinary Art Research» research group at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Design Film Art.