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This book takes the reader on a grand tour of the empirical research concerning the personality trait of appreciation of beauty. It particularly focuses on engagement with natural beauty, engagement with artistic beauty, and engagement with moral beauty. The book addresses philosophers’ thoughts about beauty, especially the special emphasis on the intimate relationship between love and beauty; appreciation of beauty from an evolutionary standpoint; and the emerging science of neuroaesthetics. The book concludes with a consideration of beauty and pedagogy/andragogy, as well as methodologies to increase appreciation of beauty.
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Understanding the Beauty Appreciation Trait Empirical Research on Seeking Beauty in All Things Rhett Diessner Understanding the Beauty Appreciation Trait “This book is very interesting and engaging to read. It will definitely be a great resource for students.” —Ines Schindler, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Germany “Plato once wrote ‘The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful.’ Professor Rhett Diessner does this with great insight, passion and clarity. He writes of how beauty can be studied, codified, learned from and wondered at. But more importantly, he holds it up as a beacon that unites us all and shines through science, art and goodness itself. Also, he’s my uncle.” —Rainn Wilson, Actor (notably Dwight Schrute from The Office) Rhett Diessner Understanding the Beauty Appreciation Trait Empirical Research on Seeking Beauty in All Things Rhett Diessner Lewis-Clark State College Lewiston, ID, USA ISBN 978-3-030-32332-5 ISBN 978-3-030-32333-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32333-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: photographed by Heidi Simmons This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland I dedicate this book to my Best Beloved, the Artisan1; and to my best beloved Wendy, who has taught me so much about every kind of beauty; and to my sister Lani, for talking to me about Cezanne when I was fourteen. 1 I use “Artisan” in a similar manner to which Nobel Prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek (2015) used that concept in his A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design. Acknowledgments and Gratitude Julia Barrett and Tyler, Riggs, and Boone (for two years of Fridays full of p