British Society of Aesthetics Connections Conference: Aesthetics and the 4E mind

A recent trend in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science has come to rethink the role played by the brain in determining the content and character of our psychological states. These “4E” approaches see the mind as embodied, embedded, enacted and/or extended: an agent’s mental life depends upon both her physical embodiment and her situatedness with a wider material and cultural environment.

This conference aims to explore whether, and how, this 4E paradigm can be applied to the distinctive cognitive and perceptual phenomena that belong to the aesthetic domain: those implicated in the agent’s powers of creativity, expression, and performance (on the one hand), and those involved in her appreciation of, and engagement with, objects of aesthetic significance (on the other). It seeks to encourage dialogue between researchers whose expertise lies in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, and those who favour 4E approaches philosophy of mind, with a view to understanding how these two camps together might inform topics such as the performance and appreciation of artforms including music and dance; the role of material culture in supporting artistic achievement; and the lived experience of designed objects and the built environment.   

Invited speakers:

• Clare Mac Cumhaill (University of Durham)
• Lambros Malafouris (Oxford University)
• Komarine Romdenh-Romluc (University of Sheffield)
• Barbara Montero (City University of New York)
• Bence Nanay (University of Antwerp & Cambridge University)
• Erik Rietveld (University of Amsterdam)
• Tom Cochrane (University of Sheffield)
• Elisabeth Schellekens (University of Uppsala)

Find out more here.