Module # 2 Blog Post

1. For each video and article list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The important concepts and key points from the article and videos are the following; art and aesthetics are related but are not the same thing. The definition of art does not include aesthetic in it because aesthetics is based on a persons feeling towards the work of art. From the CNN article What The Brain Draws From: Art and Neuroscience by Elizabeth Landau, she mentioned three important things. A visual system has both a fast stream, that helps us to navigate, and slow, more detail-oriented stream. The luminance and color are important in creating illusions in art works. Lastly, artists have developed tricks to fool the brain. In the video Aesthetics Philosophy of the Arts it is mentioned that aesthetic philosophy is the study of beauty and art. Dr. Changeux and Dr. Ramachandran in the video Carta: Neurobiology, Neurology, and Art and Aesthetics, speak about Art and Aesthetics from the point of view of works of art, estheticacy and also through the analysis of the eight laws of aesthetics.

2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosophers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

The philosopher Plato from the 4th century B.C. believed that art and beauty were two separate things, this I agree with. He said " What is beautiful in itself is not this object, or that one, but that which conveys their own nature". Aristotle in the other hand stated "The chief form of beauty are order and symmetry and definiteness, which the mathematical science demonstrate in a special degree", he analysed the philosophy from the unity of time, place, and action. In the 18th century, in England one of the founders of modern Aesthetics philosophy, Francis Hutchinson, believed " the ideas brought about in our soul by beauty and harmony delight us necessarily and immediately just like the other sensible ideas" in simpler terms it is based on the feeling that the work of art cause in us. John Dewey from the 20th century had similar view he said " feelings aroused by a work of art are not purely a personal experience, they must be of a universal nature". I feel that since the aesthetics philosophy is the study of beauty and art that Francis Hutchinson and Plato's philosophy on the topic are the ideas I agree more with because art can have beauty, but not every piece of art is beautiful to every person. Therefore, art end beauty are separated, but from an aesthetic point of view each art work will cause a feeling.

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

 Neurobiologist Dr. Jean-Pierre Changeux explained art and aesthetics in the following way

1- Work of art- artifact, human productions specialized for inter-subjective communication that used symbolic forms genetically & epigenetically encoded 

2- Distinct from language = nonverbal communication of emotional states, knowledge, experience with multiplicity of codes yet, under, implicit constraints of rules

3- with esthetic efficacy staggering effects on emotion and reason mobilizing conscious & non-conscious processes.

4- Art in constant evolution = art history renewal yet without apparent.

Neurologist Dr. Vilayanar Ramachandran explained that in order to understand how the brain functions toward art it should be from an aesthetic point of view. He developed the concept of the eight laws of aesthetics which states :

1- Grouping or "binding"

2- Peak shift principal

3- Contrast 

4- Isolating a single cue to optimally excite cortical visual areas ("attention")

5- Perceptual "problem solving"

6- Symmetry

7- Abhorrence of unique vantage points and suspicious coincidence 

8- Art as metaphor

4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text?

The videos and article are related to the textbook because each of them present a fully detailed development of the concept of what is art and aesthetics. In the textbook, we see more in depth understanding of aesthetics and art from an artistic point of view. In the video and article, they focus in showing the separation between the two and tried to explain why we react and feel the way we do when we see a piece of art work.

5. What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

My opinion on both the videos and article is that they help you understand a little further about aesthetics and how our perception of the truth can be deceived by an artists creation. I like the explanation from Dr. Changeux and Dr. Ramachandran regarding the brain processing what we see and interpreting it. I also see that the films and article help me to see different points of view that the text book did not go very much in depth with.