These three images show Mona Lisa's smile
filtered to show selectively lowest (left) low (middle) and high (right)
spatial frequencies
indicating that we see her smile only via
peripheral vision. Margaret Livingstone, Science, 290, 1299.
Aesthetics and Cognitive Science
William Seeley
This
seminar offers an examination of issues surrounding attempts to explain art and
aesthetic experience by reference to the natural psychological processes
subserving perception and cognition. The aim of the course is to investigate
what role psychology can play in an explanation of art and aesthetic
experiences. The first part of the course introduces issues surrounding any
attempt to naturalize aesthetics: what is an aesthetic experience?; how do
aesthetic judgments differ from ordinary perceptual judgments?; what is the
role of an artwork in an aesthetic experience?; how does the choice of a theory
of art shape a theory of aesthetic experience?; what does it mean to
'naturalize' aesthetics? The second part of the course examines the role an
understanding of the perceptual relationship between viewers and works of
visual art can play in explanations of our understanding, experience, and
appreciation of art generally. This section investigates the general methodology
underlying the study of aesthetics and cognitive science, the application of
current theories of perception to an understanding of aesthetic experiences,
and whether these studies reveal limitations to the project of naturalizing
aesthetics.
CSCC 330 (01), fall 2015 - Yale
University
CSES 221b (JE), Spring 2010 - Yale
University
Phil/Psy/SPM 379, Spring 2006 - Franklin
& Marshall College
CSES391a (BR), Fall 2005 - Yale University
CSTD361a (PC), Fall 2003 - Yale University
Neuroscience of Art Resource Page
Related Courses:
Philosophy of Art - Bates College, 2013
Philosophy of Film: A Cognitivist Approach
- Bates College, 2011
The Power of Art - Bates College, 2009
Art, Meaning, & Perception - Franklin & Marshall College, 2008