Art, Mind and Evolution
| dc.contributor.author | Robichaud, Alyssa | |
| dc.contributor.copyright-release | No | en_US |
| dc.contributor.degree | Master of Arts | en_US |
| dc.contributor.department | Department of Philosophy | en_US |
| dc.contributor.ethics-approval | Not Applicable | en_US |
| dc.contributor.external-examiner | n/a | en_US |
| dc.contributor.graduate-coordinator | Greg Scherkoske | en_US |
| dc.contributor.manuscripts | Not Applicable | en_US |
| dc.contributor.thesis-reader | Letitia Meynell | en_US |
| dc.contributor.thesis-reader | Steven Burns | en_US |
| dc.contributor.thesis-supervisor | Duncan MacIntosh | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-09-01T16:45:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-09-01T16:45:38Z | |
| dc.date.defence | 2017-08-24 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-09-01T16:45:38Z | |
| dc.description | Philosophical theorizing about art, its nature and purpose, is recorded as far back as Plato and Aristotle. In recent decades, evolutionary theories of art have been proposed, some suggesting that art, if it is an adaptation, must have utility, and others suggesting that art, not having utility, must be an evolutionary byproduct. This thesis examines adaptationist arguments for inherited behavioral tendencies in general and adaptationist arguments regarding art behaviors in particular. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | I argue that the fact that the purpose of art is still open to theorizing is perhaps one of the stronger arguments for art behaviors being instinctual. After exploring and critiquing a selection of evolutionary theories of art proposed by others, I then outline a tentative adaptationist theory of art, suggesting that art behaviors are an inherited behavioral tendency by which human beings instinctively and unconsciously tweak their environment so that it fosters an expanded conceptual and perceptual range of the minds of the human population. Possible effects of the theory upon the practice of art are considered. In closing, it is suggested that Thompson’s insights regarding the limits of engineered circuit design equally apply to philosophy. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10222/73269 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.subject | Aesthetics | en_US |
| dc.subject | Evolutionary Psychology | en_US |
| dc.subject | Natural Selection | en_US |
| dc.subject | Evolution | en_US |
| dc.subject | Art | en_US |
| dc.subject | Mind | en_US |
| dc.title | Art, Mind and Evolution | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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