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" The aesthetic animal / "
Henrik Høgh-Olesen.
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BL
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| Record Number
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873449
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| Uniform Title
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Æstetiske menneskedyr.English
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| Main Entry
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Høgh-Olesen, Henrik
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| Title & Author
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The aesthetic animal /\ Henrik Høgh-Olesen.
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| Publication Statement
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New York, NY :: Oxford University Press,, [2019]
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| Page. NO
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xiv, 167 pages :: illustrations (some color), color portraits (some color) ;; 24 cm
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| ISBN
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0190927925
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: 9780190927929
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
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| Contents
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Introduction: the aesthetic impulse -- An animal in search of stimulation, for pleasure and need : two stories on the forces that drive us towards art and aesthetics -- The first humans and the first art -- What a sexy tale! key stimuli and attraction : aesthetics in the animal kingdom -- The woman in red and the man with the chrome-plated wheels : aesthetics and key stimuli in the human world -- The human peacock : body ornamentation and artistic behaviour from tribal society to modern primitives -- Who lives here? : decoration, design, and ornamentation on objects and surroundings -- Art and the brain's reward system : brain processes and neuroaesthetics -- Fiction and narrative : the function of symbolic aesthetics -- Summing up the aesthetic impulse : adaptation, cheesecake, or? -- Opening the doors of aesthetics : concluding remarks -- References -- Notes -- Index.
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| Abstract
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'The Aesthetic Animal' answers the ultimate questions of why we adorn ourselves, embellish our things and surroundings, and produce art, music, song dance, and fiction. Humans are aesthetic animals that spend vast amounts of time and resources on seemingly useless aesthetic activities. However, nature would not allow a species to waste precious time and effort on activities completely unrelated to survival, reproduction, and the well-being of that species. Consequently, the aesthetic impulse must have some important biological functions. A number of observations indicate that the aesthetic impulse is an inherent part of human nature, and therefore a primary impulse in its own right with several important functions: The aesthetic impulse may guide us toward what is biologically good for us, and help us choose the right fitness enhancing items in our surroundings. It is a valid individual fitness indicator as well as a unifying social group marker, and aesthetically skilled individuals get more mating possibilities, higher status and more collaborative offers. The book is written in a lively and entertaining tone, with beautiful color illustrations. It covers a wide field of aesthetic behaviors from cave art, graffiti, tattoos, and piercings over fashion, design, music, song, and dance. It presents an original and comprehensive synthesis of the empirical field, synthesizing data from archaeology, cave art, anthropology, biology, ethology, behavioral- and evolutionary psychology and neuro-aesthetics.
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Aesthetics-- Philosophy.
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Social psychology.
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20.02 philosophy and theory of the art sciences.
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20.02 philosophy and theory of the art sciences.
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Aesthetics.
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Ästhetik
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Psychologie
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| Dewey Classification
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302
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| LC Classification
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HM251.H62313 2019
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| Added Entry
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Oxford University Press,publisher.
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