Dear Steve, I can understand your 'nervousness'! Your question is useful in helping me to think about what I am doing. In answer I would say a) that I cant see how variations in the cellular life-cycle, body weight or organism topology of the individual body would affect the way an artist works and b) even if it did I cant reconstruct those aspects of an artist like Leonardo; so i cant use that knowledge in my explanations. What is great about plasticity is that because experiments have shown how the visual cortex is affected in predictable ways by the objects to which the eye is exposed. and because the way it is affected generates specific visual preferences, we can extract principles that can be applied to all artists. This is why, if we know anything about the objects to which an individual has been exposed we will know something of the particular preferences that will have unconsciously guided his/her hand. Knowledge of the principles of neural plasticity thus helps us to answer the questions that an art historian asks, such as why did the artist make this object in this way at this time and place. Of course it is only an additional tool to those we have already, but it is more tool-like because it is governed by the 'laws' of nature. Does that respond to your query? John> Dear John, > > I confess that I get a little alarmed when people prepend "neuro" to > everything. So perhaps you can justify exactly why you regard neural > plasticity as a "tool" of explanation. What is it about plasticity > that would allow explanation in the history of Art? And why would this > provide any better explanation than any other variable physical > characteristic, for example, the cellular life-cycle, body weight or > organism topology? > > With respect, > Steven > > -- > Dr. Steven Ericsson-Zenith > Institute for Advanced Science & Engineering > http://iase.info > http://senses.info > > > On Sep 21, 2008, at 10:08 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Hi,everyone, >> I have been listening in and behaving myself till now, taking great >> interest in the discussion of big issues. Now I want to step in >> because >> with Ramachandran's 'laws' the big issues are coming down to >> specifics in >> my area. For the last fifteen years I have been trying to use >> neuroscience to help understand the history of art and have been >> delighted >> to discover that neuroscientists are similarly engaged, following a >> two >> and a half thousand year tradition. Indeed, last year I published a >> book >> with Yale reviewing that history 'Neuroarthistory. From Aristotle and >> Pliny to Baxandall and Zeki'. It is fascinating that big thinkers >> have >> been trying to formulate laws-or at least principles-in this area. >> But of >> course nobobody until today had enough knowledge of the brain to >> explore >> the neurological foundations of those principles. Now I believe we >> do, >> and my next two books will endeavour to do that. One puzzle for me >> is >> that people in neuroaesthetics tend to disregard neural plasticity >> which >> to me is an essential tool as I try to explain why different >> individuals >> have made art in different ways at different times and in different >> places. That is why I differentiate my activity, which has much in >> common with neuroaesthetics, as neuroarthistory. What I am trying >> to do >> is to formulate principles which explain those differences, using the >> record of all art worldwide from prehistory to the present as >> experimental >> material. If you want to find out a bit about this project you can >> read >> the introductory material to my Atlas of World Art 2004(just >> reissued in a >> cheaper edition as the Atlas of Art 2008). I like to think that the >> wealth of data provided by that rich record allows us both to >> formulate >> and test such principles. The testing is the essential part. >> Whether >> the principles I -and others working in this area-come up with are >> eventually recognised as laws remains to be seen, John >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> fis mailing list >> fis@listas.unizar.es >> https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis > > > > > > > >
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