The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy ArtThe Aesthetic Brain takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey through the world of beauty, pleasure, and art. Chatterjee uses neuroscience to probe how an aesthetic sense is etched in our minds and evolutionary psychology to explain why aesthetic concerns feature centrally in our lives. Along the way, Chatterjee addresses fundamental questions: What is beauty? Is beauty universal? How is beauty related to pleasure? What is art? Should art be beautiful? Do we have an instinct for art? Chatterjee starts by probing the reasons that we find people, places, and even numbers beautiful. At the root of beauty, he finds, is pleasure. He then examines our pleasures by dissecting why we want and why we like food, sex, and money and how these rewards relate to aesthetic encounters. His ruminations on beauty and pleasure prepare him and the reader to face art. He wanders through the problems of defining art, understanding contemporary art, and interpreting ancient art. He explores why art, something that seems so useless, also feels fundamental to our humanity. Replete with facts, anecdotes, and analogies, this empirical guide to aesthetics offers scientific answers without deflating the wonders of beauty and art. |
Other editions - View all
The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art Anjan Chatterjee, MD Limited preview - 2013 |
The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art Anjan Chatterjee No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
adaptive aesthetic encounters aesthetic experiences amygdala ancestors animals areas art instinct artists artwork attractive faces babies basic behavior Bengalese biology bird bodies brain called cannabinoid Casinos caves Chapter chocolate cingulate cognitive color complex conceptual art context cultural desire dopamine emotions engage environment environmental evoked evolution evolutionary psychology evolved exaggerate example exaptations female finch find attractive food and sex golden ratio hoodoos human idea images insula landscapes Lascaux lobes look male math meaning medial OFC natural neural activity neuroaesthetics neuroscience neuroscientist nucleus accumbens numbers objects orbitofrontal cortex paintings parietal partners peak shift physical play pleasure Pleistocene prefer prefrontal cortex produce properties receptors response reward systems savanna savanna hypothesis scenes scientists selective pressures sensations sense sexual dimorphic sexual selection signals smells social song specific structures survival symmetry taste temporal lobe things thought tion University ventral striatum visual women