Why and How Should Cognitive Science Care about Aesthetics?

For more than two millennia, theoretical reflections on aesthetic perception and the creation of aesthetically appealing objects have been an important domain of humanist scholarship.Empirical aesthetics complements this tradition by adopting scientific methodology and providing evidence-based, reproducible answers to both longstanding and recently arisen questions.While empirical aesthetics has largely remained marginal since its foundation by Fechner in the mid-19th century, it is now about to be more broadly acknowledged as an important subfield of scientific research. Empirical aesthetics has found its way into mainstream cognitive science. Until now, most research has focused either on identifying the internal processes that underlie a perceiver’s aesthetic experience or on identifying the stimulus features that lead to a specific type of aesthetic experience. To progress, empirical aesthetics must integrate these approaches into a unified paradigm that encourages researchers to think in terms of temporal dynamics and interactions between: (i) the stimulus and the perceiver; (ii) different systems within the perceiver; and (iii) different layers of the stimulus. At this critical moment, empirical aesthetics must also clearly identify and define its key concepts, sketch out its agenda, and specify its approach to grow into a coherent and distinct discipline. Empirical aesthetics has found its way into mainstream cognitive science. Until now, most research has focused either on identifying the internal processes that underlie a perceiver’s aesthetic experience or on identifying the stimulus features that lead to a specific type of aesthetic experience. To progress, empirical aesthetics must integrate these approaches into a unified paradigm that encourages researchers to think in terms of temporal dynamics and interactions between: (i) the stimulus and the perceiver; (ii) different systems within the perceiver; and (iii) different layers of the stimulus. At this critical moment, empirical aesthetics must also clearly identify and define its key concepts, sketch out its agenda, and specify its approach to grow into a coherent and distinct discipline. Aesthetic processing has a profound impact on our everyday lives. It influences our choices regarding romantic partners, where we wish to live, how we dress, which objects we surround ourselves with, and the activities we pursue in our leisure time 1.Little A.C. et al.Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research.Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B Biol. Sci. 2011; 366: 1638-1659Crossref PubMed Scopus (482) Google Scholar, 2.Ritterfeld U. Cupchik G.C. 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