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Complementarity As Generative Principle: A Thought Pattern for Aesthetic Appreciations and Cognitive Appraisals in
Yan Bao1,2,3, Alexandra von Stosch2,4,5, Mona Park2,3
1School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversityBeijing, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 25, 2017
Summary
Cognitive neuroscience offers insights into art appreciation by proposing complementarity as a core principle. This framework, rooted in philosophy, explains neurocognitive processes and enhances interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and scientists.
Area of Science:
- Experimental aesthetics
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Philosophy of art
Background:
- The intersection of arts and cognitive neuroscience is a growing area of research.
- Understanding aesthetic appreciation requires a robust theoretical framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose complementarity as a generative principle in neurocognitive processes for studying the arts.
- To establish a theoretical framework for aesthetic appreciation and cognitive appraisal.
- To address challenges in experimental aesthetics, including taxonomy and language bias.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling based on complementarity.
- Review of philosophical and art historical concepts.
- Selective summary of experimental aesthetics research, including brain-imaging techniques.
Main Results:
- Complementarity, characterized by dual activities (e.g., bottom-up/top-down control), is proposed as a fundamental neurocognitive principle.
- A thought pattern for aesthetic and cognitive appraisals is suggested, linking ancient philosophy to modern neuroscience.
- Challenges in experimental aesthetics, such as lack of functional taxonomy and language bias, are identified.
Conclusions:
- Complementarity offers a generative principle for understanding neurocognitive processes in aesthetic appreciation.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and scientists, guided by complementarity, can yield novel insights.
- Addressing methodological and linguistic limitations is crucial for advancing experimental aesthetics.
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