An Aesthetic Theory of Vandalism

1978 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernon L. Allen ◽  
David B. Greenberger
Keyword(s):  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Previous Theory ◽  
Discriminative Stimuli ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Destructive Behavior ◽  
Initial Appearance ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Practical Implications

An aesthetic theory of vandalism is proposed. The theory posits that the variables accounting for the enjoyment associated with socially acceptable aesthetic experiences are similarly responsible for the pleasure associated with acts of destruction. Previous theory and research in aesthetics have identified many important factors, such as complexity, expectation, novelty, intensity, and patterning, which are responsible for the pleasure that accompanies an aesthetic experience. These same psychological processes are involved in the destruction of an object. Furthermore, aesthetic variables implicated in an object's initial appearance and in its appearance after being vandalized may serve as eliciting or discriminative stimuli for destructive behavior. Several studies provide support for hypotheses derived from the aesthetic theory of vandalism. In conclusion, we examine the theory's practical implications for reducing vandalism in the schools.

scholarly journals The Biological Basis of Mathematical Beauty

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semir Zeki ◽  
Oliver Y. Chén ◽  
John Paul Romaya
Keyword(s):  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Mathematical Culture ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Biological Basis ◽  
Mathematical Beauty ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Biological Category

AbstractThrough our past studies of the neurobiology of beauty, we have come to divide aesthetic experiences into two broad categories: biological and artifactual. The aesthetic experience of biological beauty is dictated by inherited brain concepts, which are resistant to change even in spite of extensive experience. The experience of artifactual beauty on the other hand is determined by post-natally acquired concepts, which are modifiable throughout life by exposure to different experiences (Zeki, 2009). Hence, in terms of aesthetic rating, biological beauty (in which we include the experience of beautiful faces or human bodies) is characterized by less variability between individuals belonging to different ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds or the same individual at different times. Artifactual beauty (in which we include the aesthetic experience of human artifacts such as buildings and cars) is characterized by greater variability between individuals belonging to different ethnic and cultural groupings and by the same individual at different times. In this paper, we present results to show that the experience of mathematical beauty (Zeki et al 2014), even though it constitutes an extreme example of beauty that is dependent upon (mathematical) culture and learning, belongs to the biological category and obeys one of its characteristics, namely a lesser variability in terms of the aesthetic ratings given to mathematical formulae experienced as beautiful.

The Aesthetic Triad

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-30
Author(s):  
Oshin Vartanian ◽  
Anjan Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Emergent Property ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Large Scale Systems ◽  
Sensory Motor ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Meaning System ◽  
The Brain

Following the rapid growth of neuroaesthetics, there was a need to systematize and organize the findings into a coherent and testable framework. With the “aesthetic triad,” the authors presented a model according to which aesthetic experience was viewed as the emergent property of the interaction of three large-scale systems in the brain: sensory-motor, emotion-valuation, and knowledge-meaning. Features that distinguished this model from others was that it was meant to apply to all aesthetic episodes (e.g., art, faces, architecture, etc.) and it acknowledged explicitly that a large variety of aesthetic experiences can emerge as a function of the specific ways in which these systems interact in the course of their emergence. To probe the model, the contribution of the knowledge-meaning system is likely of greatest interest, at least in part because that system encapsulates a large breadth of factors ranging from the personal to the cultural.

scholarly journals Associating With Art: A Network Model of Aesthetic Effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Specker ◽  
Eiko I. Fried ◽  
Raphael Rosenberg ◽  
Helmut Leder
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Art Theory ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Active Interaction

In recent years, understanding psychological constructs as network processes has gained considerable traction in the social sciences. In this paper, we propose the aesthetic effects network (AEN) as a novel way to conceptualize aesthetic experience. The AEN represents an associative process where having one association leads to the next association, generating an overall aesthetic experience. In art theory, associations of this kind are referred to as aesthetic effects. The AEN provides an explicit account of a specific cognitive process involved in aesthetic experience. We first outline the AEN and discuss empirical results (Study 1, N=255) to explore what can be gained from this approach. Second, in Study 2 (N=133, pre-registered) we follow calls in the literature to substantiate network theories by using an experimental manipulation, and found evidence in favor of the AEN over other alternatives. The AEN provides a basis for future studies that can apply a network perspective to different aesthetic experiences and processes. This perspective takes a process-based approach to aesthetic experience, where aesthetic experience is represented as an active interaction between viewer and artwork. If we want to understand how people experience art, it is central to know why people have different experiences with the same artworks, and, also, why people have similar experiences when looking at different artworks. Our proposed network perspective offers a new way to approach and potentially answer these questions.

scholarly journals POLISH AESTHETIC DISCOURSE OF THE 20TH CENTURY: INTERPRETATION OF INTERPRETATIONS

2018 ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
E. I. Onishchenko
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Theoretical Orientations ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
National University ◽  
Aesthetic Consciousness ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Aesthetic

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Polish aesthetic discourse of the twentieth century and the prospects for its interpretation in the Ukrainian aesthetics, particularly in the works by Kateryna Shevchuk, defended at the department of ethics, aesthetics and culture studies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. These research greatly extend the idea of the aesthetic canon of the Polish thought, classically represented by the aesthetics R. Ingarden and W. Tatarkiewicz and reveal the names of virtually unknown in Ukraine Polish scientists, including special interest is the legacy of L. Blaustein, M. Wallis, H. Elzenberg and G. Ossowski. In particular, this perspective covers traditional for the twentieth century aesthetics problems, including psychology of art, collective aesthetic experience, ratio, fantasy, and imagination. Also, new interpretive perspectives of sublime and ugly, aesthetical experience are opened. The theoretical orientations of the Polish scholars, in one way or another, were connected with the cornerstones of the aesthetic science - its subject, the conceptual-categorical apparatus, the structure of aesthetic consciousness, the phenomenon of artistic creativity, the specific nature of art, and others. In the process of conceptual concretization, in the field of Polish aesthetics a number of problems have been rather clearly distinguished, among which the special attention of practically all of its leading representatives has attracted the phenomenon of aesthetical experience. K. Shevchuk’s investigation opens up an opportunity, at least in the format of a secondary interpretation, to join the research of the Polish scholars, whose work proved to be a giant "white spot" for the Ukrainian aestheticians. Introducing actually unexplored concepts Polish scientists to the modern Ukrainian aesthetic theory not only facilitates the opening of "unknown pages" in the history of the twentieth century aesthetics, but also makes actual mark of new approaches to the analysis of classical problems, the relevance of which will never be a subject of doubt.

Aesthetics of the Everyday

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crispin Sartwell
Keyword(s):  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Philosophy Of Art ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Popular Art ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Everyday Aesthetics ◽  
Art Activities ◽  
Art As Experience ◽  
The Aesthetic

‘Everyday aesthetics’ refers to the possibility of aesthetic experience of non-art objects and events, as well as to a current movement within the field of philosophy of art which rejects or puts into question distinctions such as those between fine and popular art, art and craft, and aesthetic and non-aesthetic experiences. The movement may be said to begin properly with Dewey's Art as Experience (1934), though it also has roots in continental philosophers such as Heidegger. The possibility of everyday aesthetics originates in two undoubted facts: firstly, that art emerges from a range of non-art activities and experiences, and, secondly, that the realm of the aesthetic extends well beyond the realm of what are commonly conceived to be the fine arts.

scholarly journals The Role of Art in Society with Particular Reference to the Problem of Violence$

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-167
Author(s):  
Camilla Pagani
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
The Other ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Individual

Background: According to the Latin poet Virgil, art is capable of revealing to us what no science can ever reveal to a human mind. The main thesis of this paper is that art can play an extremely beneficial role in society as it can strongly foster humans’ efforts to attain a deeper and broader comprehension of reality. Objective: The experience of art can provide a powerful contribution to the efforts to avoid resorting to violence and to address conflicts constructively. Violence or, more exactly, unjustified violence, basically rests on an irrational and short-sighted analysis and interpretation of reality. Results: The psychological processes relating to the aesthetic experience and to its connections with violence are described. It is also pointed out that this theoretical perspective does not fully coincide with the theoretical theses underpinning art therapy. In fact, in this paper art is not considered as a mere therapeutic instrument. Instead, an attempt has been made to consider art and our relationship with art in their more complex and partly still unexplored aspects, where neither art or the individual is “at the service” of the other. Conclusion: Art can provide the possibility to experience a new dimension, where no power relations exist and where new ways of seeing and feeling are made possible. It can hence foster the development of less primitive and richer personalities. In this way violence should lose its raison d’être. So it appears that this theoretical approach might be particularly helpful in order to better understand and countervail violence.

scholarly journals AESTHETIC GUEST EXPERIENCE IN RESTAURANT: A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana Marković ◽  
◽  
Jelena Dorčić ◽  
Dora Rašan ◽  
Bruna Bucić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Restaurant Managers ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Restaurant Experience ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Practical Implications

The concept of customer experience has received considerable attention in various disciplines, particularly in tourism and hospitality research. However, the aesthetic guest experience has hardly been investigated in previous studies. Aesthetics involves what makes an object beautiful and what people feel when they encounter a beautiful object. Dining experience encompasses almost all senses together, which makes it difficult to measure this concept properly. Considering the important role of aesthetics in the dining experience, this study provides a review and synthesis of the literature to establish a foundation for the conceptual framework for measuring the aesthetic guest experience in restaurants. The main objectives of this study are to categorise and summarise the research on aesthetic guest experience, present a new conceptualization and conceptual model of the aesthetic guest experience in restaurants, and highlight the emerging trends and gaps in the literature. The findings of this study contribute to aesthetic theory and offer practical implications for restaurant managers regarding all aesthetic components that should be considered when designing a memorable aesthetic restaurant experience.

scholarly journals The nature of perception and emotion in aesthetic appreciation: A response to Makin’s challenge to Empirical Aesthetics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Skov ◽  
Marcos Nadal
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Aesthetic Appreciation ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Emotional Processes ◽  
Distinct Kind ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Mainstream Psychology

Alexis Makin argued in a recent paper that Empirical Aesthetics is unable to properly advance our understanding of the mechanisms involved in aesthetic experience. The reason for this predicament, he claims, is an inability of current research methods to capture the psychological properties that truly characterize aesthetic experience, especially the unique perceptual and emotional processes involved in the aesthetic experience. We show that Makin’s argument rests on assumptions that are at odds with scientific knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in the appreciation of sensory objects. We thereafter show that such mechanisms are rooted in shared neurobiological systems, and operate according to computational principles that are common to many domains of experience. This casts doubt on the notion that aesthetic experiences constitute a distinct kind of experiences that can be defined according to a set of special and unique qualities. Finally, we discuss how attributing this specialness to “aesthetic” experiences leads Empirical Aesthetics astray from mainstream psychology and neuroscience.

Creative Engagement in Everyday Life – Learning from Aesthetic Experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna K. Pałęga
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Art Galleries ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Aesthetic

Abstract In recent years the concept of aesthetics has become broader and more focused on the aesthetic experience resulting from the interaction between the person and the environment. A lot has been written about the way people experience settings that are explicitly designed as sites for aesthetic engagement, such as museums and art galleries, but very little attention has been given to ordinary people and how they make sense of such experiences in their everyday lives. This research study explores the everyday aesthetic experiences that lay people find meaningful in their daily encounters through a phenomenological approach. The findings indicate that everyday aesthetic experiences result from being open to creatively engage, are a blend of serendipitous events and planned encounters and a significant dimension of lived experience.

scholarly journals Conversation as a Work of Art: Will it Hang in a Museum?

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Marie Iorio
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Human Response ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Aesthetic Experiences ◽  
Music Drama ◽  
The Aesthetic

Arts are an expectation in early childhood classrooms — traditionally, visual art, music, drama, and movement. The variety of understandings of art and aesthetic experiences shape approaches to arts education, particularly with young children. Attempts to define the aesthetic experience refer to the presence of an object, most commonly a work of art. The object becomes central to the human response within the aesthetic experience. Through the analysis of data documenting conversations between a child and an adult, the author have previously proposed child — adult conversations as aesthetic experiences. In this article, she re-examines excerpts from child—adult conversations from her research, negotiating the possibility of naming child—adult conversation as art, in order to recognise child—adult conversation as an aesthetic experience. This article continues the conversation around thinking of conversation as art, and the art of conversation — an integral component of pedagogy with young children.

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