Deeper than Reason: Emotion and Its Role in Literature, Music, and Art

by Jenefer Robinson

Overview

Deeper than Reason takes the insights of modern scientific research on the emotions and uses them to illuminate 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, 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 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199263653
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/02/2005
Pages:	518
Product dimensions:	9.43(w) x 6.54(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

University of Cincinnati

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

Deeper than Reason: Emotion and its Role in Literature, Music, and Art, is a product of more then twenty years of research, in which [Robeson] digs deep into the nexus between philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics. This book is well worth reading if one is interested in contemporary theories of emotions or aesthetics. —Metapsychology

From the Publisher