Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Aesthetics

Description

Experimental philosophy has blossomed into a variety of philosophical fields including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language. But there has been very little experimental philosophical research in the domain of philosophical aesthetics. Advances to Experimental Philosophy of Aesthetics introduces this burgeoning research field, presenting it both in its unity and diversity, and determining the nature and methods of an experimental philosophy of aesthetics. Addressing a wide variety of empirical claims that are of interest to philosophers and psychologists, a team of authors from different disciplines tackle traditional and new problems in aesthetics, including the nature of aesthetic properties and norms, the possibility of aesthetic testimony, the role of emotions and moral judgment in art appreciation, the link between art and language, and the role of intuitions in philosophical aesthetics. Interacting with other disciplines such as moral psychology and linguistics, it demonstrates how philosophical aesthetics can integrate empirical methods and discover new ways of approaching core problems. Advances to Experimental Philosophy of Aesthetics is an important contribution to understanding aesthetics in the 21st century.

Florian Cova is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Sebastien Rehault is Associate member of the Archives Poincare - Philosophy and Research in Sciences and Technology, CNRS / Universite de Lorraine, France.

Experimental aesthetics is the new frontier of experimental philosophy, and Cova and Rehault's fascinating volume is a watershed moment in its growth. For the first time, psychologists, philosophers, and linguists come together to examine aesthetic judgment, the nature of artworks, or the role of emotions in art. Aesthetics will never be the same, and this interdisciplinary volume will be a template for future work about art. * Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, USA * Wittgenstein thought that psychology could contribute little to aesthetics. This extraordinary volume makes it clear that Wittgenstein was wrong! The experimental philosophy of aesthetics is barely a decade old. These exciting and provocative papers leave little doubt that it has already come of age. * Stephen Stich, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University, USA *