While William is lurking  as he waits for  Cheerskep to improve his behavior
-- I'd like to give some more thought to differences between the discourses of
art criticism/philosophy and the discourses of neuroscience.

First - by noting that discussions of neuroscience, just like discussions of
art, include the category of journalism:  the writers who address the general
public in daily newspapers as well as monthly science magazines.

I can't find  popular magazines devoted specifically to neuroscience (as there
are for astronomy or aeronautics) -- but it is a frequent subject in magazines
that cover all the sciences -- especially with articles that deal with the
popular subject of "creativity"

But while "creativity" seems an appropriate topic  for neuroscience,
"judgment" does not -- while, as William notes, Art Theory is concerned with
"establishing past and future validation" and "the goal of Art Criticism is
judgment"

Can neuroscience address issues of judgment ?

Presumably, it could show  which parts of the brain are involved -- but as
soon as it asks which judgment is better than another, it has left its area of
expertise.

For example -- perhaps a study might show that damage to a certain area of the
brain removes the ability to distinguish the art or aesthetic quality of a
Jackson Pollock painting from that of a randomly selected house painter's drop
cloth.

But whether that distinction is relevant to the critical validation of art is
a question that only art theory and criticism can address.

So I'd like to suggest that neuroscience is no more relevant to art theory and
criticism than it is to any of the other high-level mental activities that
humans may pursue -- like chess, mathematics, handicapping horses, etc.

Indeed it only serves as a distraction which points, as does the success of
the "institutional theory", to the weakness of contemporary art theory and
criticism.


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