Moving Toward Emotions in the Aesthetic Experience

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors comment on their original review published in 2009 in Current Opinion in Neurobiology where, as they build a general theoretical framework that encompasses major empirical work in the field of neuroaesthetics since then, they also emphasize the role of the motor system and emotions in building an aesthetic experience. In this chapter, the authors extend their previous view with further empirical evidence, including from clinical and developmental psychology, thus supporting the idea that perception is not a mere “visual” copy of what is before our eyes, but the result of a complex construction whose outcome depends on the contribution of our body and its motor potential, our senses and emotions, imagination and memories. While the authors offer some food for thought for future research, they conclude by introducing a fairly recent line of study that explores the role of embodiment in architecture.