The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art

The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art

Animals' choice behavior is driven by motivation that is attributable to both innate urges and from positive and negative reinforcements. Using a comparative approach as well as experimental evidence, I explore how the first involves fitness-enhancing benefits from aesthetics that are derived f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bernd Heinrich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2013-07-01
Series:Evolutionary Psychology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100316
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spelling doaj-404bd0ddd27d4105b3abf8dee9cfcfc62020-11-25T03:43:20ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492013-07-011110.1177/14747049130110031610.1177_147470491301100316The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and ArtBernd HeinrichAnimals' choice behavior is driven by motivation that is attributable to both innate urges and from positive and negative reinforcements. Using a comparative approach as well as experimental evidence, I explore how the first involves fitness-enhancing benefits from aesthetics that are derived from ancestral choices via natural selection. Innate urges and aesthetics help guide animals to produce appropriate positive and negative choices that are species-specific. Choices of food, habitat and mates or associates are considered. I propose that art is not a uniquely human product, but a representation or an extension of the maker, as are the ornaments, displays, and songs of a bird.https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100316
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Bernd Heinrich
spellingShingle Bernd Heinrich
The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
Evolutionary Psychology
author_facet Bernd Heinrich
author_sort Bernd Heinrich
title The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
title_short The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
title_full The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
title_fullStr The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
title_full_unstemmed The Biological Roots of Aesthetics and Art
title_sort biological roots of aesthetics and art
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Evolutionary Psychology
issn 1474-7049
publishDate 2013-07-01
description Animals' choice behavior is driven by motivation that is attributable to both innate urges and from positive and negative reinforcements. Using a comparative approach as well as experimental evidence, I explore how the first involves fitness-enhancing benefits from aesthetics that are derived from ancestral choices via natural selection. Innate urges and aesthetics help guide animals to produce appropriate positive and negative choices that are species-specific. Choices of food, habitat and mates or associates are considered. I propose that art is not a uniquely human product, but a representation or an extension of the maker, as are the ornaments, displays, and songs of a bird.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491301100316
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