Emotion and language in aesthetic experiences

Tone Roald*, Bjarne Sode Funch, Simo Køppe

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

What we call art has continuously been questioned, renewed and differentiated,yet its link to affect and emotion has been persistently confirmed since the very beginningof modernity. In this chapter we answer the question of how art affects us, beginning witha historical overview of the most important theoretical positions. We present discussionsof aesthetic phenomena as varied as abstract emotion, aesthetic pleasure, catharsis, empa-thy, flow experience, and perceptual dynamics with a point of departure in phenomenolog-ical psychology and discuss the nature of affect, language and perception based on select-ed accounts of aesthetic experience. We rely on the theoretical framework of the Frenchphenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and show how language is fundamentally em-bodied. How art affects us depends on the kind of perception in question as the differentart forms appeal to their respective sense modalities. Differences in art experiences, how-ever, are also based on amodal parts of experience, such as movement, affect and lan-guage. It is concluded that to language dynamic experiences are much more demandingthan naming objects and consequently language in its narrow sense is not a possible foun-dation for aesthetic experience. Using the concept of language in a broad sense shows howthe most common language of art is affect and emotion.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook of language and emotion
EditorsG. L. Schiewer, J. Altarriba, B. Chin Ng
Number of pages19
Volume3
PublisherDe Gruyter
Publication date8 May 2023
Pages1471-1489
Chapter70
ISBN (Print)9783110795417
ISBN (Electronic)9783110795486
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 May 2023
SeriesHandbuecher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
Number46/1
ISSN1861-5090

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