Empathy and the Aesthetic Mind
Perspectives on Fiction and Beyond
Empathy and the Aesthetic Mind
Perspectives on Fiction and Beyond
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Description
Empathy is widely acknowledged as a central, if not necessary, mechanism for understanding works of art, and even as the mode of engagement that mediates art's edifying effects. Bringing together 15 essays by established scholars, this volume probes the character and role of empathy in our engagement with different forms of art, but also the value of such engagement for cognition, our emotive life, and our moral stance.
Opening with a historical reconstruction of the origins of the concept of empathy, the volume develops in four parts that explore in turn our empathic engagement with fictional characters, the cognitive value of such engagement, its relevance for moral agency, as well as the thorny issue of empathic engagement with the inanimate in art, focusing on music and architecture. With an interest in both aesthetics and philosophy of mind, the volume provides an in-depth discussion of these themes, giving careful attention to historical, systematic, and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Table of Contents
1. What Is Aesthetic Empathy and How Does it Work? A Historic–Systematic Approach Thomas Petraschka
Part I. Empathy with Fictional Others: Challenges and Complexities
2. Imagining Empathy for Fictional Characters Jonathan Gilmore
3. Imaginative Freedom and Epistemic Constraints in the Context of Literary Text Julia Langkau
4. Videogames as Vehicles for Empathetic Perspective-Shifting: Imagining Psychosis in Hellblade Christopher Bartel
5. Authentic Performance and Empathy Maria José Alcaraz León
Part II. Empathy and Aesthetic Cognitivism
6. Empathy, Imagination, and the Epistemic Value of Fiction Amy Kind
7. Affective Empathy and Imagined Emotion in Literary Fiction Cain Todd
8. Empathic Imaginings and 'Knowledge of What it Is Like' in Aesthetic Cognitivism Íngrid Vendrell Ferran
Part III. Empathy and the Moral Stance
9. The Rhetoric of Empathy in Narrative Film Carl Plantinga
10. Stepping Into Ill-Fitting Shoes: The Rewards and Perils of Empathy for Rough Heroes Panos Paris
11. Cheap Empathy: Sam Lipsyte's The Ask Tzachi Zamir
Part IV. Beyond Fiction: Empathy in the Experience of Music and Architecture
12. The Role of Empathy in Musical Experience and Understanding Joel Smith
13. The Social Dimension of Music Listening: Empathy and the Experience of Feeling Moved Jonna Vuoskoski
14. Varieties of Empathy in Architecture Anne Tüscher
15. From Feeling Into to Feeling With: Rhythm, Resonance and Response Sarah Robinson
Index
Product details
| Published | Jul 23 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | 9781350409569 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Dimensions | 9 x 6 inches |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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