Research Commons
      • Browse 
        • Communities & Collections
        • Titles
        • Authors
        • By Issue Date
        • Subjects
        • Types
        • Series
      • Help 
        • About
        • Collection Policy
        • OA Mandate Guidelines
        • Guidelines FAQ
        • Contact Us
      • My Account 
        • Sign In
        • Register
      View Item 
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Arts and Social Sciences
      • Arts and Social Sciences Papers
      • View Item
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Arts and Social Sciences
      • Arts and Social Sciences Papers
      • View Item
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

      (R)evolutionary aesthetics: Denis Dutton’s The art instinct: beauty, pleasure and human evolution

      Kingsbury, Justine
      Thumbnail
      Files
      Revolutionary aesthetics.pdf
      179.8Kb
      DOI
       10.1007/s10539-010-9223-5
      Link
       www.springerlink.com
      Find in your library  
      Citation
      Export citation
      Kingsbury, J. (2009). (R)evolutionary aesthetics: Denis Dutton’s The art instinct: beauty, pleasure and human evolution. Biology, Social Science and Law, 26(1), 141-150.
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/5052
      Abstract
      Denis Dutton’s ‘‘The Art Instinct’’ succeeds admirably in showing that it is possible to think about art from a biological point of view, and this is a significant achievement, given that resistance to the idea that cultural phenomena have biological underpinnings remains widespread in many academic disciplines. However, his account of the origins of our artistic impulses and the far-reaching conclusions he draws from that account are not persuasive. This article points out a number of problems: in particular, problems with Dutton’s appeal to sexual selection, with his discussion of the adaptation/by-product distinction and its significance, and with drawing normative conclusions from evolutionary hypotheses.
      Date
      2009
      Type
      Journal Article
      Publisher
      Springer
      Rights
      This is an author’s accepted version of an article published in the journal: Biology, Social Science and Law. © 2009 Springer. The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com.
      Collections
      • Arts and Social Sciences Papers [1405]
      Show full item record  

      Usage

      Downloads, last 12 months
      160
       
       
       

      Usage Statistics

      For this itemFor all of Research Commons

      The University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o WaikatoFeedback and RequestsCopyright and Legal Statement