Aesthetics and morality judgements share functional neuroarchitecture

Cortex 129:484-495 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Philosophers have predominantly regarded morality and aesthetics judgments as fundamentally different. However, whether this claim is empirically founded has remained unclear. In a novel task, we measured brain activity of participants judging the aesthetic beauty of artwork or the moral goodness of actions depicted. To control for the content of judgments, participants assessed the age of the artworks and the speed of depicted actions. Univariate analyses revealed whole-brain corrected, content-controlled common activation for aesthetics and morality judgments in frontopolar, dorsomedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Temporoparietal cortex showed activation specific for morality judgments, occipital cortex for aesthetics judgments. Multivariate analyses revealed both common and distinct whole-brain corrected representations for morality and aesthetics judgments in temporoparietal and prefrontal regions. Overall, neural commonalities are more pronounced than predominant philosophical views would predict. They are compatible with minority accounts that stress commonalities between aesthetics and morality judgments, such as sentimentalism and a valuation framework.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

External links

  • This entry has no external links. Add one.
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

The Objectivity of Truth, Morality, and Beauty.Steven James Bartlett - 2017 - Willamette University Faculty Research Website.
Morality and Art.Philippa Foot - 1970 - Proceedings of the British Academy 56 (131-144).
Fine Art as Preparation for Christian Love.Ian Rottenberg - 2014 - Journal of Religious Ethics 42 (2):243-262.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-07-05

Downloads
488 (#58,808)

6 months
135 (#36,472)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references