The Institute carries out basic research in the field of aesthetics. This includes the Philosophy of Art, as well as questions of knowledge and politics of the arts and of artistic research. At the centre of the research work of the Institute we therefore find "Epistemology of the Aesthetic", "The Language of Aesthetics / the Aesthetics of Language" and "Research in the Arts" form the centre of the institute's research. The point of departure is the awareness that, on the one hand, aesthetics represents a universal category insofar as perception (aisthēsis) forms knowledge to an essential degree and as it plays a part in every cultural practice and in various social forms of existence (like economies, ecologies, work, dreams). On the other hand, aesthetics constitutes a unique way of thinking and acting, which differentiates it from the sciences or other discursive themes that are guided by concepts.
The Institute is led by Prof Dr Elke Bippus (art theory), Prof Dr Corina Caduff (literary studies) and Prof Dr Dieter Mersch (Philosophy; Head of Institute).