1,720,969 research outputs found
Tastes of the Parents: epigenetics and its role in evolutionary aesthetics
No full textEvolutionary Aesthetics is a bourgeoning and thriving sub-field of Aesthetics, the main aim of which is “the importation of aesthetics into natural sciences, and especially its integration into the heuristic of Darwin’s evolutionary theory.” Scholars working in the field attempt to determine through the adoption of an interdisciplinary research methodology whether and to what extent Darwinian evolution can shed light on our capacity to have aesthetic experiences, make aesthetic judgments (both of art and natural beauty), and produce literary, visual, musical artworks. Notwithstanding Evolutionary Aesthetics’ growing popularity in the past two decades, a look into the state of current research suggests a significant degree of haziness in the field from both epistemological-methodological and theoretical points of view. The main aim of the present paper is to make a first step towards a revision and extension of the discipline by assessing the role and potential of epigenetics in evolutionarily inspired aesthetic research. Epigenetics is among the youngest and most fascinating research fields in contemporary biology. But one of the most significant occurrences of the word “epigenesis” (the closest “ancestor” of contemporary “epigenetics”) is in Immanuel Kant’s third Critique, his aesthetic masterpiece. What might be the relationship between epigenetics and aesthetics? What is the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the development and functioning of aesthetic behavior in humans
Are habits inherited? A possible epigenetic route from Charles Darwin to the contemporary debate.
No full textWhat is a habit? What do habitual processes and evolutionary theory have to do with each other and what is the role played by habitual processes in heredity? The main aim of this paper is to take a fresh look at Charles Darwin's use of the term “habit”: we shall analyse value and functions of this concept in Darwin's early works, particularly in his Notebooks, and compare these early views to Darwin's more mature understanding of habits in the Origin of Species; most interestingly, we shall discuss Darwin's view on habits in the light of today's theories of epigenetic inheritance, which describe how the functioning and expression of genes is modified by the environment and how these modifications are transmitted over generations. Indeed, current epigenetics seems to revive (at least to a certain extent) Darwin's early ideas on habitual processes. The young Darwin, persuaded, after his Beagle voyage, that species change over time, considered habits as one of the main agents of evolution
Aesthetic habits and aesthetic experience: an evolutionary view
No full textRecent attempts, naturalistically inspired, to re-interpret the aesthetic and the arts beyond the
ancient dichotomies (culture vs. nature, form vs. content, mind vs. world) have not been entirely
successful so far. With some - although promising - exceptions, neither contemporary evolutionary
aesthetics, the main aim of which is to investigate the evolutionary origin of the human aesthetic
attitude, nor empirical aesthetics have been able to overcome once and for all the dualistic views
according to which 1) the arts and the aesthetic are the most sophisticated fruits of cultural
evolution in humans; 2) form, assumed as contextually impermeable, is the real source of the
aesthetic/artistic experience; 3) the aesthetic experience is localized in the brain/mind of the
individual, with almost no attention paid to the context/world in which it is embedded.
Pragmatist theories, such as Dewey's and James', intended, as one of their major aims, to get rid of
these dualistic views. As Dewey remarks in Art as Experience, the dichotomies between nature and
culture, the mind and the world, constitute "a bias, and one, which, most unfortunately, is just the
one most fatal to aesthetic understanding". The interest in the notion of habit and the understanding
of experience as a process of habit formation inscribe themselves into this general aim of
overcoming ancient, detrimental dichotomies.
Now, it is known that Charles Darwin paid special attention to the notion of habit and developed an
idea of experience (including aesthetic experience) as a process of habit formation, both at the
individual and collective level. The influence of Darwin's views on pragmatist philosophers,
particularly on Dewey, is undisputed. What is an aesthetic habit? What does it mean to understand
aesthetic experience as a process of habit formation? How might these two notions, aesthetic habit
and aesthetic experience, help us to overcome the nature/culture divide?
The aim of the present paper is twofold: first, we intend to summarize and discuss Darwin's views
on habit and his idea of the (aesthetic) experience as a process of habit formation; second, we intend
to show how contemporary evolutionary biology, with particular reference to niche construction
theory and evidences emerging from epigenetics (including its possible inheritance), can provide
useful tools to look at human (and nonhuman?) habits from a new, fruitful perspective, beyond the
nature/culture dichotomy and in line with the "core" of philosophical pragmatism. An inherent
connection between pragmatism, evolution and aesthetics is expected to result from our paper
Foreword
Full text linkThis issue of Aisthesis grew out of the international and inter- disciplinary conference «From the Aesthetic Mind to the Symbolic Mind. Perceptual Dynamics, Mimetic Practices, Human Theatrical- ity» held at the University of Florence on 26-28 October 2017. By bringing together researchers from various academic disciplines (philosophy, archaeology, psychology, performing arts, anthropol- ogy) and with different backgrounds and expertise, the conference intended to cast new light on central notions such as «aesthetic mind», “mimetic practices», «theatricality», and to refresh the debate about their relevance and role in human experience and their mutu- al connections
Modello interattivo di competenze interculturali
No full textIl contributo illustra un modello interattivo di competenze interculturali elaborato a seguito della ricerca
Competenze interculturali e successo formativo: finalità e metodologia della ricerca
No full textIl contributo illustra finalità e metodologia della ricerca sulle competenze intercultural
Competenze pedagogiche interculturali nell'era postmoderna
No full textIl contributo illustra le competenze interculturali necessarie nell'attuale era postmodern
Analisi dei project works: competenze interculturali "alla prova"
No full textIl capitolo analizza i dati emersi dall'analisi dei project works degli studenti del Master coinvolti nel progetto di ricerca
Intelligenza emotiva di tratto e dimensioni di personalità: analisi dei dati quantitativi
No full textLo scopo principale del presente lavoro è stato indagare se la partecipazione al Master “Intercultural Competence and Management” promosso dall’Università di Verona fosse associata a un potenziamento in alcuni aspetti della competenza socio-emotiva. Hanno partecipato 33 studenti del Master, a cui sono stati somministrati due strumenti per valutare l’intelligenza emotiva di tratto e le cinque dimensioni di personalità previste dal modello dei Big Five, prima e dopo la partecipazione al Master. I risultati hanno indicato un miglioramento in alcuni aspetti dell’intelligenza emotiva di tratto, quali Espressione delle emozioni, Consapevolezza sociale, Gestione delle emozioni ed Emozionalità. Inoltre, l’intelligenza emotiva di tratto è risultata correlare positivamente a dimensioni di personalità quali Gradevolezza e Coscienziosità e negativamente al Nevroticismo. Tali dimensioni sono risultate stabili nel tempo. Quanto emerso è discusso alla luce delle implicazioni sul piano teorico e applicativo
- …
