neuroesthetics means the scientific study of the neural bases for the contemplation and creation of artworks. It carries an Arena rating of 1127, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, neuroesthetics ranks #5,192 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #5,976 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #6,717 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #7,384 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “neuroesthetics” is a great word
NEUROESTHETICS — [Noun] The scientific study of the neural bases for the contemplation and creation of artworks. From neuro- (pertaining to nerves or the nervous system) + esthetics (the study of beauty and taste). Coined in 1999 by Semir Zeki. Unlike aesthetics, which ponders beauty philosophically, or art criticism, which interprets form and meaning, neuroesthetics seeks the physiological signature of artistic experience. It is the measurable flare in the visual cortex before a Mondrian, the dopamine surge timed to a harmonic resolution, and the mapped stillness in the amygdala when faced with the sublime—a cartography of the soul's ineffable joys in the precise machinery of the brain.
Etymology
From neuro- + esthetics.
noun
- The scientific study of the neural bases for the contemplation and creation of artworks.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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