Deeper than Reason: Emotion and its Role in Literature, Music, and Art / Edition 1

by Jenefer Robinson

Overview

Deeper than Reason takes the insights of modern psychological and neuroscientific research on the emotions and brings them to bear on questions about our emotional involvement with the arts. Robinson begins by laying out a theory of emotion, one that is supported by the best evidence from current empirical work on emotions, and then in the light of this theory examines some of the ways in which the emotions function in the arts. Written in a clear and engaging style, her book will make fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in the emotions and how they work, as well as anyone engaged with the arts and aesthetics, especially with questions about emotional expression in the arts, emotional experience of art forms, and, more generally, artistic interpretation.

Part One develops a theory of emotions as processes, having at their core non-cognitive "instinctive" appraisals, "deeper than reason", which automatically induce physiological changes and action tendencies, and which then give way to cognitive monitoring of the situation. Part Two examines the role of the emotions in understanding literature, especially the great realistic novels of the nineteenth century. Robinson argues that such works need to be experienced emotionally if they are to be properly understood. A detailed reading of Edith Wharton's novel The Reef demonstrates how a great novel can educate us emotionally by first evoking instinctive emotional responses and then getting us to cognitively monitor and reflect upon them. Part Three puts forward a new Romantic theory of emotional expression in the arts. Part Four deals with music, both the emotional expression of emotion in music, whether vocal or instrumental, and the arousal of emotion by music. The way music arouses emotion lends indirect support to the theory of emotion outlined in Part One.

While grounded in the science of emotion, Deeper than Reason demonstrates the continuing importance of the arts and humanities to our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199204267
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/14/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	518
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.62(h) x 1.15(d)

Table of Contents

I. What are Emotions and How do they Operate?1. Emotions as Judgements2. Stirrings of the Blood3. Emotion as ProcessII. Emotion in Literature4. The Importance of Being Emotional5. Puzzles and Paradoxes6. A Sentimental Education7. Formal Devices as Coping MechanismsIII. Expressing Emotions in the Arts8. Pouring forth the Soul9. A New Romantic Theory of ExpressionIV. Music and the Emotions10. Emotional Expression in Music11. The Expression of Emotion in Instrumental Music12. Listening with Emotion: how our emotions help us to understand music13. Feeling the Music14. Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

"Robinson is the only philosopher of music known to me who seems to have understood that musical experience involves the activation of the motor system and to have grasped this fact's fundamental importance. Deeper than Reason is impressive. Indeed, it is the best philosophical monograph I know on emotion and the arts. Among its many achievements is one most rare: it manages to be both accessible and profound." — Modern Philology

"Jenefer Robinson's Deeper Than Reason: Emotion and Its Role in Literature, Music, and Art is a remarkable book, with a wide scope and a clear, compelling main thesis. In this book, Robinson convincingly shows how the expression and experience of emotion play a central role in the appreciation and creation of artworks."—James Harold, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher