Foreword: Aesthetics and Neuroaesthetics

This foreword is designed as a home reading preceding the introductory lecture. It presents views on beauty developed in philosophy and philosophy of art (Plato, the Sophists, Nicolas Boileau, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Immanuel Kant, and Nelson Goodman, among others) culminating in an introduction of the basic principles of empirical aesthetics established by Gustav Theodor Fechner. These histories offer opportunities for highlighting the disciplinary tensions as well as the interdisciplinary seamlessness that might arise from considering the humanities origins of various scientific methods, concepts, and techniques. Teasing out these tensions, the Foreword clarifies the contemporary role of humanities researchers in bringing depth of understanding to scientifically obtained (experimental) results. Each view on beauty presented here provides the elements of an integrative definition of aesthetic experience that may satisfy both humanists and scientists. This section includes several exercises for students to do at home in preparation for the introductory lecture.