The Aesthetic Brain

Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., is Professor of Neurology, and a member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and the Center for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the editorial boards of Empirical Studies of the Arts; Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology; Behavioural Neurology; Neuropsychology; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience; European Neurology; The Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society; American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience; Brain Science; and Policy Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology. In 2002, he was awarded the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology by the American Academy of Neurology. He is President of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics and President of the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Society.

In this book, Dr Anjan Chatterjee. . . introduces us to the emerging field of neuroasthetics. . . In his cogent review of the long history of human artifact-making art, he carefully considers the many definitions of aesthetics, art, and beauty. . . The author comes to his persuasive conclusion after having carefully examined prehistoric art objects, the history of art, evolutionary biology, brain anatomy, and functional studies.

• PREFACE ; INTRODUCTION ; BEAUTY ; 1. What is this thing called beauty? ; 2. Captivating faces ; 3. The measure of facial beauty ; 4. The body beautiful ; 5. How the brain works ; 6. Brains behind beauty ; 7. Evolving beauty ; 8. Landscapes ; 9. Numbering beauty ; 10. The illogic of beauty ; PLEASURE ; 1. What is this thing called pleasure? ; 2. Food ; 3. Sex ; 4. Money ; 5. Liking, wanting, learning ; 6. The logic of pleasure ; ART ; 1. What is this thing called art? ; 2. Art: Biology and culture ; 3. Descriptive science of the arts ; 4. Experimental science of the arts ; 5. Conceptual art ; 6. The inception of art ; 7. Messy minds ; 8. Evolving art ; 9. Art: A tail or a song? ; 10. The serendipity of art