Module 2

1.  Aesthetics: Philosophy of Art, In this video I learned a lot about the varying theories surrounding aesthetics. Over the years the theory has changed, much like the art itself has changed. However, most theories involve the idea of beauty. It seems that beauty and art are thought of as one of the same. For example, Plato said "There is a beauty by which all things are beautiful". Meaning, that even if a piece of art is considered  by society ugly, there is still beauty in that ugliness.
Carta: Evolutionary Origins of Art and Aesthetics: Neurobiology, Neurology and Art and Aesthetics: In this video I learned about how Humanities and Science do come together, in the human brain. For example, art is made to produce pleasing feelings within the human brain. It is crazy how a picture or painting can cause a physical chemical reaction.
Article: In the article I found interesting how the concept of line is universal. It is crazy how even babies and monkeys can identify what something is just by its outline. I find this particularly interesting cause the art works I prefer are outlines. I find the simplicity so beautiful and striking.

2. John Dewey said, “Feelings aroused by a work of art are not purely a personal experience, they must be of a universal nature”. John Dewey is from the 20^th century. I feel his theory on aesthetics is the most important. Art says something to everyone, and in the moment when we personally are taking in a piece we might feel as if we are the first one to feel that way from that piece. However, upon sharing how that art made us feel we can learn that even though we all are so different, we all still share the basic human emotions. For example, if a piece of art made Joe and John sad for two completely different reasons, they both are still sad. And after sharing that initial feeling of sad together, they can learn more about each other and themselves. That root feeling can bring people together. John Dewey’s theory allowed people to connect different pieces of art.

3. Changeux and Ramachandran both have very interesting views of aesthetics and art.  Changeux especially had an interesting point pf view. I like how he sees artifacts as pieces of art. I completely agree with that. I believe that anything that we create can be considered as art. For example, when chef's create beautiful food, that is art. I also enjoyed how he compared people to art. I also agree with this because art is in everything we are. Ramachandran's point of view was also interesting. I really enjoyed the fact of how art physically produces reactions in our brains. I find this so interesting, because it physically changes us just for a moment. However, it can mentally change us for a lifetime.

4. The videos and the article related to the reading by going further in depth. The reading gave me an initial understanding of aesthetics. However, after I was still confused. The videos allowed me to fully understand what aesthetics really is. In the past I would always hear the word, but I never understood that it meant the study of art and beauty. I always just thought it meant a place's vibe or style. The article introduces new information that went along with the reading. For example, it introduces the concept of line, and faces.

5. I really enjoyed the article. It had a lot of information that surprised me. I just find it so interesting how universally we can all identify things by their outline, and how we can all make out ":)" as a face. The videos I didn't like as much. I loved the information, however, I would rather have it in the format of an article. I prefer to have the information written out in front of me. That way I can easily go back and obtain the information at my own speed.