Aesthetics Vol. I
Reading Group
May 1, 8, 15, and 22
A four-week reading group through Aesthetics – Volume I with with Jim Beauregard.
The group will meet over Zoom on Thursdays (May 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd, 2026) from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT.
About the Text
Written in the early 1970s during the last years of his life, as if harvesting a lifetime of reflection, Aesthetics is Dietrich von Hildebrand’s comprehensive two-volume study and defense of beauty and art.
“Aesthetics [is] best understood as an explosion of insights,” writes Alice von Hildebrand, widow of Dietrich, in a note on the text. “He knew he was running out of time, and so he tried to capture the Niagara Falls of ideas that flowed out of him.”
For those familiar with Hildebrand’s background, it is no surprise that beauty should be a central theme in his thought. His father, Adolf von Hildebrand, was one of the most revered German sculptors of the turn-of-the-century period and Dietrich von Hildebrand grew up in a world filled with many of Europe’s leading artists, musicians, and writers.
Format
The meeting will be conducted live in Zoom. Links for the session will be sent out ahead of time.
To allow for rich discussion, the group is limited in size to a maximum of 20 participants. Once the group is full, additional registrations will be placed on a waitlist.
All participants are expected to have a copy of the text and to come prepared to each session having done the weekly reading (15-45 pages per week). The weekly reading schedule will be emailed to you.
Moderator
James Beauregard, PhD is a clinical neuropsychologist who is also currently working on a PhD, in philosophy at the University of Anáhuac, where his doctoral dissertation focuses on the aesthetics of Dietrich von Hildebrand. He has taught in doctoral and master’s level psychology programs (Biological Bases of Behavior, Neuropsychology, Healthcare Ethics, Educational Neuroscience and Aging). His research interests are in the fields of neuroethics and personalist philosophy, including the intersection of these two areas as they impact our understandings of personhood. He is a member of the International Neuroethics Society, the Spanish Personalist Association and the International Conference on Persons (where he serves on the board of directors). He has presented on personalism in the United States, Europe and Central America. His recent publications includePhilosophical Neuroethics: A Personalist Approach, Vol. 1, Foundations and Philosophical Neuroethics, Vol. 2: Practical Neuroethics. His interest in personalist thought was sparked early in his college days when he first read Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II’s The Acting Person and Redemptor Hominis.
Costs
Reading groups are free to attend.
If you are able, we invite you to make a donation to help defray the costs of organizing (reading groups cost the Hildebrand Project ~$900 for a four-week group). We are committed to making reading groups accessible to all; therefore, participation is not contingent on a donation.
Your gift support this reading group, our publications, web resources, and other events, all of which contribute to bringing the vital, life-giving witness of personalist philosophy into new and uncertain times.
Level:
Suitable for intermediate to advanced: primarily discussion.
Readings:
forthcoming
Time:
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT
May 1 — 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT