false 5788390 2 <DIV><B>In a groundbreaking new book that does for art what Stephen Pinker’s <I>The Language Instinct</I> did for linguistics, Denis Dutton overturns a century of art theory and criticism and revolutionizes our understanding of the arts.<BR><I></I></B><I>The Art Instinct</I> combines two fascinating and contentious disciplines—art and evolutionary science—in a provocative new work that will change forever the way we think about the arts, from painting to literature to movies to pottery. Human tastes in the arts, Dutton argues, are evolutionary traits, shaped by Darwinian selection. They are not, as the past century of art criticism and academic theory would have it, just “socially constructed.”<BR>Our love of beauty is inborn, and many aesthetic tastes are shared across remote cultures—just one example is the widespread preference for landscapes with water and distant trees, like the savannas where we evolved. Using forceful logic and hard evidence, Dutton shows that we must premise art criticism on an understanding of evolution, not on abstract “theory.” He restores the place of beauty, pleasure, and skill as artistic values.<BR>Sure to provoke discussion in scientific circles and uproar in the art world, <I>The Art Instinct </I>offers radical new insights into both the nature of art and the workings of the human mind.</DIV> 5960332 23 12 2008 The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution total:39|5:5|4:9|3:20|2:4|1:1| 39 130 230 14 0 2 false false Thu Mar 12 02:34:07 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 05:27:11 -0700 2009 "But then, the whole idea that art worlds are monadically sealed off from one another is daft. Do we need to be reminded that Chopin is loved in Korea, that Spaniards collect Japanese prints, or that Cervantes is read in Chicago and Shakespeare enjoyed in China?"

What? Every Spa...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 23:25:34 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 23:41:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jul 06 09:42:40 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 09:43:51 -0700 2009
The book begi...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 09:14:08 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 10:27:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 11 21:44:37 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 21:52:38 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 29 14:30:54 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 14:30:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 13:15:57 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 11:32:09 -0700 2009
Finished today. This is not the last word on the subject, but it's a good start.]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 07:23:28 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 07:24:15 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 10:10:02 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 09:20:07 -0700 2009 ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jan 20 14:15:24 -0800 2009 Tue May 12 17:44:37 -0700 2009 very interesting discussion on the logical extension of our Pleistocene evolution to the arena of art, aesthetics, etc.
obviously a newer branch of study & requiring more research but excellent addition to any reading sh...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 28 09:55:56 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 12:17:58 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 09:55:56 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 08 08:23:48 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 07:32:54 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon May 04 14:56:44 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 08 17:48:29 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Oct 14 15:47:46 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 16:44:54 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 08 12:14:30 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 12:14:30 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 08 07:48:27 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 07:48:27 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 03 11:57:30 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 11:57:30 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 31 13:43:53 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 13:43:53 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 08:19:24 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 08:19:24 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Oct 24 01:17:42 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 01:17:42 -0700 2009