Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism and Wonder

Objective

Aristotle famously argued that wonder is the starting point of philosophical inquiry, driving humans to seek knowledge about the world. Similarly, great works of art—from the Sistine Chapel to Jenny Holzer’s concept art—evoke wonder. This emotion, whether in its extreme or subtler forms, prompts widened eyes, dropped jaws, and a sense of awe that urges us to reflect on what we experience. However, a narrow focus on intense forms of wonder may have limited research on its broader, more pervasive impacts. Wonder also manifests in smaller, less dramatic instances. Wonder also uniquely bridges cognitive and aesthetic realms as both an epistemic emotion—expanding our cognitive access—and an aesthetic emotion—reflecting the value of the arts. Conceptualized as prolonged interest intertwined with surprise, fascination, and awe, wonder belongs to a core cluster of epistemic emotions that uniquely orients human cognition. Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism and Wonder (AAC_Wonder) seeks to explore key philosophical questions about the relationship between such emotions and understanding: Do emotions support or hinder epistemic progress? What role can the arts play in guiding these emotions? For wonder, I argue for its positive impact: It inspires multisensory exploration, fosters shifts in perspective, and leads to understanding. Puzzling questions about art and cultural environments are also addressed, such as why way art draw us in and how it shapes our world. The project’s aim is to develop a novel theory of wonder by integrating philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives (A_THEORY). This theory will draw on Philosophically guided Supplementary Analyses of empirical neuroaesthetics (B_DATA), making these findings accessible to philosophers. AAC_Wonder will also pioneer experiments (C_EXPERIMENTS) to address gaps in understanding how art and culture generate knowledge and transform perspectives, advancing the framework of Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism.