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January 23, 2006

Art and cognition:

venus_de_milo.jpgInterdisciplines is an organisation that aims to link the humanities with the cognitive sciences and their latest online conference focuses on art and cognition.

New and original papers are regularly published on their website and are opened for commentary. The latest in the Art and Cognition workshop and is by philosopher John Hyman who examines the ongoing work on art and neuroscience.

This is a topic which has become increasingly popular in the last decade owing to a number of high profile scientists pondering the issue (with mixed success, it has to be said).

Hyman's paper is notable as it criticises the current trend of suggesting that adequate theories of aesthetics must, in essence, be neurologically based.


Link to ' Art and Neuroscience' by John Hyman.
Link to Interdisciplines Art and Cognition Workshop.

—Vaughan.

Posted at January 23, 2006 08:00 AM

Comments

JJ Saenz says:

Hm... point well made in the article you recommend (the super theories proposed just address one characteristic of some works of art each - I fully agree), but otherwise it is very disingenous... the analysis of Ramachandran is especially poor. I get the impression I was hoping I wouldn't: that the author is trying to defend the veil of mystery around art. Apparently art and being an artist wouldn't be so cool if this vagueness wasn't there. IMHO, some day both artists and scientists will have to acknowledge, tail between their legs, that there is no trascendent definition of art and science... they are what the community of scientists and artists make them be.

Comment posted at January 25, 2006 02:54 PM

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