One philosopher of our time claims that "today, the experience of beauty is impossible."
Dr. Jason Baxter, director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College, begs to differ. Dr. Baxter joins us on HeightsCast to unpack his latest book, Why Literature Still Matters, which looks at why such a claim might feel true in our digital age. Then, he talks us through why and how we should reclaim our experiences of beauty for the health of our soul.
Chapters:
00:03:34 The experience of beauty
00:08:44 Byung-Chul Han: the possibility of beauty today
00:15:41 Marc Auge: still living in the Enlightenment experiment
00:20:46 The soul is not a machine
00:24:57 Our task as parents, educators
00:35:05 Likes and emojis: the simplification of our interior life
00:49:23 A near-death experience in Sardinia
00:56:24 Beauty and mental health
00:57:40 Franny and Zooey: interiority matters
01:03:41 Recommended reading
Links:
Why Literature Still Matters by Jason Baxter
Help! Where do I go from here? Part I: Poetry by Jason Baxter
Beauty Matters, Substack for Jason Baxter
jasonmbaxter.com featuring articles and lectures
Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College
Saving Beauty by Byung-Chul Han
Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity by Marc Auge
The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich
A Letter to Our Daughter by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
"A Prayer for My Daughter" by W. B. Yeats
Recommended reading:
"Burnt Norton" from Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
"A Hill" by Anthony Hecht
"Advice to a Prophet" by Richard Wilbur
The Loss of the Creature by Walker Percy
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Also on the Forum:
Breathing Narnian Air: Loving Modernity as a Medievalist featuring Dr. Jason Baxter
Receiving Beauty: A Liberal Arts Education featuring Dr. George Harne
Order and Surprise: On Beauty and the Western Tradition featuring Dr. Lionel Yaceczko
Featured Opportunities:
The Art of Teaching Boys Conference at The Heights School (January 7-9, 2026 / May 6-8, 2026)
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