Ladislav Kesner on ‘Saving the humanities from evolutionary and neuroscientific imperialism’

Saving the humanities from evolutionary and neuroscientific imperialism

Review of:

Matthew Rampley, The Seductions of Darwin. Art, Evolution, Neuroscience, The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA 2017,189pp., ISBN 978-0-271-07742-0

Ladislav Kesner (Masaryk University Brno) 20/LK1

Abstract: Matthew Rampley´s The Seductions of Darwin. Art, Evolution, Neuroscience presents a strong critique of evolutionary and neuroscientific approaches to art. The review critically analyses author´s positions, arguments and rhetoric, concluding that the book fails in its objective to examine the value of biological approaches for art history and thus contribute to bridging the divide between science and art.

Keywords: art, science, evolutionary theories, neo-Darwinism, biological approaches, neuroarthistory, neuroaesthetics