The Unwritten Aesthetic: Where Philosophy Meets Creativity

Albert Camus’ Absurdist philosophy still rings so strongly resonant. Has the Meaning Crisis sent us spiraling back to philosophical suicide, or does Camus’ writing remind us of something deeply numinous and important about our human experience? **TW: Use of the term "Su*c*de" throughout discussion, as seen throughout Camus' work.** Welcome to The Unwritten Aesthetic, where the intellectual rigor o...

We’re starting to live in a time where everything around us feels… manipulated. Algorithmic. Uncanny. From AI Art to social media curation, Lauren and Reese dive deep into shared meaning making, the power of language change, artistic impact on cultural change, and the philosophy of retreating into abstraction. Welcome to The Unwritten Aesthetic, where the intellectual rigor of philosophy meets the...

What makes art work? Is creativity a psychological process, a mystical one, or something stranger, layered, and unnameable? In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic, Reese and Lauren dive deep into an evocative conversation inspired by Gordon White’s Podcast, Rune Soup, and the episode titled “Art as Evocation” with Phil Ford and J.F. Martel of Weird Studies. Together, Reese and Lauren explore t...

Existential therapy, aesthetic theory, and philosophically spooky, this Halloween special of The Unwritten Aesthetic dives deep into the philosophy of spookiness. From Paul Klee’s haunting puppets to the Jungian witch archetype and the paradox of being both enchanted and alienated in a hyper-digital world. You’ll heart about… Why the witch symbolizes feminine autonomy and rebellion - How play and...

What does it actually mean to be or become “woman”? In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic , Reese and Lauren go full “chaos mode philosophy,” unpacking what it means to grow up under the “myth of woman” — the stories we’re told about femininity, beauty, success, and self-worth — and how those stories still shape our choices today. They explore the cycles of shame and creativity that define ea...

Let’s unpack the quarter-life crisis (yay….). From existential dread to redefining purpose, we at least know one thing: life isn’t a stage, it’s a soup! In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic , Reese Brown and Lauren Bush celebrate the space between their birthdays and dive deep into what it means to reach quarter-life. From the awkwardness of birthday songs to existential philosophy, they exp...

In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic , Reese and Lauren get real about what it means to feel stuck in your creative practice. From writer’s block to painting plateaus, they unpack the frustration of creative ruts and share strategies for finding flow again. They explore: How structure can both help and stifle creativity Why confidence in your own ideas is essential The tension between academ...

What do philosophers think will happen with the future of AI and what are the ethical implications we all need to be considering now, before it’s too late? In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic , Reese Brown and Lauren Bush explore the artist journey and what it means to balance artistic practice, studio practice, and academic constraints in a world increasingly shaped by AI. From grad school...

Portraits, love, and the philosophy of art — what can a painting really say? In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic , a philosophy of art podcast, Lauren Bush and Reese Brown explore the question: what can an artist truly say through their work? From portraits painted with love and vulnerability to the symbolism of doors and the unexpected ways viewers interpret art, this conversation dives de...

In this episode, we discuss the overlapping perspectives between the philosopher Martin Heidegger and artist Paul Klee regarding the essence of the work of art. Through this lens, we interpret art as the vehicle for, and evidence of, the genesis of meaning [the process of bringing meaning into being]. We also explore how this interpretation of art parallels the issue of linguistic translation, ask...

In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic, a podcast about philosophy and creativity, we explore the question of whether we can separate the artist from their art and, if so, under what circumstances it is permissible to do so. We ask this question in a variety of contexts—philosophy, music, and visual art—and discuss how social media is making it more difficult to separate someone from their wor...

In this episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic, a philosophy podcast, Reese Brown and Lauren Bush explore the intricate relationship between poetry and art, discussing their creative processes, the questionable value of effort in artistic creation, and the role of humor, spirituality, and the audience in poetry. They delve into the differences between short and long poems, the layers of meaning in bot...

In this episode, we (read and) discuss Reese’s Master’s Thesis, which draws from philosophy, poetry spirituality, and literature to begin to answer the enigmatic question: If all of life is pointing to one thing, what is that thing? With this text as our anchor, we discuss the utility of interdisciplinary work for filling in explanatory gaps in specific fields/disciplines, how certain linguistic/n...

In today’s episode of The Unwritten Aesthetic, Reese and Lauren discuss the crisis of language, exploring how to communicate the “mystery” of the “divine” while acknowledging its inherent ineffability. They reflect on why attempting to express the inexpressible remains a worthy endeavor, even if it proves to be impossible, and how this pursuit shapes their approach to life and meaning-making. Welc...

In this conversation, Lauren Bush and Reese Brown explore the complexities of awareness, embodiment, and the philosophical concepts of Dasein and being/Being/beyng, using one of Lauren’s recent philosophy papers. They discuss the importance of grounding awareness in action, the tension between subjectivity and wholeness, and the implications of Heidegger's ideas on understanding existence. The dia...

In this episode, we reflect on our recent excursion to the Uffizi Gallery, exploring why certain paintings “sing” or resonate emotionally with some viewers and not others, and how different artistic approaches—such as hyperrealism, abstraction, and impressionism—might enhance that resonance. We also discuss the privileging of language over the image in the Western philosophical tradition, consider...

Join creatives Lauren Bush and Reese Brown as they find the middle ground in the free will debate, explore the creative difference between artistic mediums, and go to bat for our intuition! Welcome to The Unwritten Aesthetic, where the intellectual rigor of philosophy meets the creative pursuit of an artful life. A place for two friends to be passionate about philosophy as an artistic pursuit, ask...

Welcome to The Unwritten Aesthetic, where the intellectual rigor of philosophy meets the creative pursuit of an artful life. A place for two friends to be passionate about philosophy as an artistic pursuit, ask life’s most important questions, create something we believe in, and to be two silly gooses. Be a part of the Collective and tune in to The Unwritten Aesthetic every other Tuesday. To find...

Isn't philosophy supposed to help us live a more meaningful life? Then why does it feel so... stuffy? Academic? Unrealistic. It's time for Philosophy to bust out of the lecture hall and take her rightful place at the corner of curiosity and creativity. Welcome to The Unwritten Aesthetic, where the intellectual rigor of philosophy meets the creative pursuit of an artful life. A place for two friend...