Experiencing a painting: An interdisciplinary discussion regarding epistemology and experiencing

Abstract | Abstract

This article discusses how the relationship between the perceiving and the perceived can be outlined in terms of a current philosophical and neuroscientific understanding. The ambition is to highlight the potential relations between the processes of consciousness and interpretation, particularly regarding the experience of art as invoking an immediate feeling. The article takes a philosophical standpoint that is inspired by Edmund Husserl’s epistemological discussions regarding intentionality and tries to combine it with a discussion of art as having the potential to invoke a feeling. In other words, the article tries to answer how, if we maintain the philosophical understanding of ourselves as the perceiving entity, art can invoke an immediate feeling within us.