The neurophysiology of aesthetic experience: Three case studies.
Item
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Title
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The neurophysiology of aesthetic experience: Three case studies.
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Identifier
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AAI3213152
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identifier
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3213152
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Creator
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Seeley, William P.
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Contributor
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Adviser: David Rosenthal
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Philosophy | Psychology, Cognitive | Biology, Neuroscience | Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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There is an explanatory strategy underlying current research in cognitive science and aesthetics, which suggests a model for naturalizing aesthetic experience. This model is derived from a general constructivist theory of vision and rests on the following claims about visual art: the visual system constructs visual representations by imposing order on the flux of sensory information reaching it from the retina; visual art somehow exploits the properties of these processes; and an intuitive awareness of how visual artworks exploit these processes is an integral part of the unique character of aesthetic experience. An explanation of the structure of the perceptual processes subserving the practices of visual artists and viewers can, as a result, explain aesthetic experiences. I refer to this model as The Constructivist Hypothesis.;I evaluate three theories that employ this model to explain the nature of aesthetic experience: Semir Zeki's assertion that visual art can be explained relative to the way artworks function to selectively stimulate discrete areas of the early visual cortex; Jennifer McMahon's claim that the phenomenal content of the experience of aesthetic form involves an intuitive understanding of sub-linguistic perceptual schemata; and a theory of art and imagination for the visual arts derived from Stephen Kosslyn's imagery feedback theory of visual search and object recognition (Kosslyn, 1996).;There is a philosophical objection one can raise for this approach to cognitive science and aesthetics. It appears that, because of its perceptual bias, the model cannot account for the role of interpretation in viewers' aesthetic practices. Interpretation is ordinarily defined as a cognitive practice that involves contextualizing what one has perceived in terms of background knowledge of the aesthetics practices of a culture or historical period. I argue to the contrary that contemporary theories of vision integrate viewers interpretive and perceptual practices. This suggests that the meanings viewers ascribe to artworks play a role in structuring their perceptual content. I argue, as a result, that one can explain the aesthetic dimension of viewers interactions with artworks in terms of the role played by memory and attention in ordinary perception.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
