The Aesthetic Brain

Perception and pleasure are functions which are mediated by brain networks, and although we know much about the networks that perceive color, shape, and motion, we know little about why certain combinations of these elements create beauty or how the brain is able to perceive beauty. Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, a world renowned behavioral neurologist, opens our eyes and allows us to understand some of the sensory elements that people view as beautiful, as well as the brain mechanisms that may mediate the perception of beauty and the joy it brings. -Kenneth M. Heilman, The James E. Rooks Jr. Distinguished Professor, Department of Neurology and Clinical Psychology, University of Florida College of Medicine Neuroaesthetics is a new field of research which, like neuroscience in other domains, is promising an exciting new vista of research. In this book, Anjan Chatterjee, a pioneer in the field, offers interested readers an informed, insider introduction to the issues along with his own original speculations. Written in attractive prose and a demonstrable sensitivity to the arts, this is the best available introduction to the field for the general reader and curious scientist alike. -Noel Carroll, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York Discussions of the way in which the brain underlies computations of beauty, and the importance that these computations have for human evolution, have captured the popular imagination like few other contemporary topics in neuroscience. If I were to recommend one book on this topic, this would certainly be it. -Oshin Vartanian, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto - Scarborough Chatterjee is a neuroscientist, so readers might expect a mechanistic treatise on beauty constructed from PET scans and clinical trials. But he offers no simple marriage of roses and neurons. To begin filling in the blanks left by neuroscience, he draws from anthropology, evolutionary biology, philosophy and personal anecdotes. As Chatterjee reminds us, insight is the goal of science and art. His work succeeds by combining both toward a greater appreciation of the human experience. -Bryan Bello, Science News Overall, The Aesthetic Brain offers an intriguing overview of the neural and historical underpinnings of beauty and art. -Scientific American [Chatterjee] makes a compelling case that although art and beauty may seem nonessential, they epitomize our search for pleasure and meaning in life. --Scientific American Mind Chatterjee reminds us, insight is the goal of science and art. His work succeeds by combining both toward a greater appreciation of the human experience. --Science News Chatterjee has written a gripping and readable book on aesthetic science. This book has much more in store for the reader. In a concise and agile manner, Chatterjee touches on many different topics related to aesthetics. By posing questions during, and especially near the end of, the chapters, Chatterjee gives the reader plenty of food for thought. It is definitively a great addition to Oxford University Press's recent titles on the science of aesthetics, and a tough one to follow for others that are already in the pipeline. --Michael Forster, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts The Aesthetic Brain examines monolithic concepts--beauty, pleasure, and art--all through a lens of evolutionary psychology, a theory that ascribes much of human behavior not to personal choice but instead to the choices of our ancestors. Ultimately, I was brought to a realization with regard to Chatterjee's work: Just because I found much of the research in the first third of The Aesthetic Brain reductive does not mean that it lacks legitimacy. Among the challenges contemporary life has thrown at us perhaps we need to acknowledge one more. --Andrea Schwalm, geekmom.com I would highly recommend reading The Aesthetic Brain. Not just to learn about the fascinating neuroscience of art, beauty and aesthetics, but also to peek in on how science goes about taking a stab at a seemingly intractable problem, previously impervious to scientific inquiry. --Aaron Sathyanesan, Biologos