One Imagination in Experiences of Beauty and Achievements of Understanding

Bibliographic Data

ID4158971
AuthorsAngela Breitenbach (University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume60
Issue1
Pages71-88
Publication date2020-03-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe British Journal of Aesthetics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0904 • E-ISSN: 1468-2842
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/aesthj/ayz048
OpenAlexW2997650024
LanguageEN
Citations received10

I argue for the unity of imagination in two prima facie diverse contexts: experiences of beauty and achievements of understanding. I develop my argument in three steps. First, I begin by describing a type of aesthetic experience that is grounded in a set of imaginative activities on the part of the person having the experience. Second, I argue that the same set of imaginative activities that grounds this type of aesthetic experience also contributes to achievements of understanding. Third, I show that my unified account of imagination has important implications: it sheds light on two puzzling phenomena, the aesthetic value of science and the cognitive value of art

Aesthetic experience · Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Beauty · Epistemology · Prima facie · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Computer Science · Empathy and Medical Education · Philosophy · Psychology

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