Is there an objective biological basis for the experience of beauty in art?
艺术的审美经验是否存在着客观的生物学基础？
Or is aesthetic experience entirely subjective? This question has been addressed in a paper published in this week's PLoS ONE, Cinzia Di Dio, Emiliano Macaluso and Giacomo Rizzolatti. The researchers used fMRI scans to study the neural activity in subjects with no knowledge of art criticism, who were shown images of Classical and Renaissance sculptures.
或者可以这样问，审美经验完全是主观的吗？Cinzia Di Dio, Emiliano Macaluso和 Giacomo Rizzolatti在这周的PLoS ONE（注）发表的一篇论文中提出了这个问题。 研究者们运用功能性磁共振成像扫描来研究没有任何艺术评论知识的受试者在观看古典雕塑和文艺复兴时期雕塑图片时的神经活动。
The 'objective' perspective was examined by contrasting images of Classical and Renaissance sculptures of canonical proportions, with images of the same sculptures whose proportions were altered to create a comparable degraded aesthetic value. In terms of brain activations, this comparison showed that the presence of the \"golden ratio\" in the original material activated specific sets of cortical neurons as well as (crucially) the insula, a structure mediating emotions. This response was particularly apparent when participants were only required to observe the stimuli; that is, when the brain reacted most spontaneously to the images presented.
他们使用了两组图片，一组是古典雕塑和文艺复兴时期雕塑真品的图片，另外一组是一些同样的雕塑，但是图片的比例已经做了改动，这样使得它们的审美价值相应地降低了。他们通过研究比较这两组图片来检测“客观”角度（这里自己感觉翻译不是很好，感觉'objective' perspective 翻译成“’客观’的等级程度”更为合适，欢迎网友指正）。这种比较以大脑激活的方式表明了真品图片中“黄金比例”的存在激活了皮质神经元的某些特殊部位和（起着决定性作用）能够调节情绪的组织——脑岛。当受试者只被要求观察刺激点时，这种反应尤其明显；也就是说，大脑很大程度上是自发地对呈现出的画面做出反应。
The 'subjective' perspective was evaluated by contrasting beautiful vs. ugly sculptures, this time as judged by each participant who decided whether or not the sculpture was aesthetic. The images judged to be beautiful selectively activated the right amygdala, a structure that responds tolearned incoming information laden with emotional value.
人们通过比较美丑来评判“主观”角度(同理感觉'subjective' perspective 翻译成“’主观’的等级程度”更为合适，欢迎网友指正）。这次的“主观”角度是由判断雕塑是否具有美感的受试者们来评判的。被判断为“美”的图片选择性地激活右杏仁核——一种可以对充满感情的新信息做出可容忍性反应的组织{改变了原句的结构，不知道是否影响原意}。
These results indicate that, in observers na? to art criticism, the sense of beauty is mediated by two non-mutually exclusive processes: one is based on a joint activation of sets of cortical neurons, triggered by parameters intrinsic to the stimuli, and the insula (objective beauty); the other is based on the activation of the amygdala, driven by one's own emotional experiences (subjective beauty). The researchers conclude that both objective and subjective factors intervene in determining our appreciation of an artwork.
这些结果表明：对于那些不懂得艺术批评的观察者来说，审美感觉是由两个互相排斥的过程介导的：一个是以对刺激物有着固有激发参数的皮质神经元组合和脑岛的联合激活为基础的（客观美感），另外一个是以由某人的情感经验所导致的杏仁核的激活为基础的（主观美感）。 研究者们总结说客观因素和主观因素共同决定了我们对艺术品的欣赏。
The history of art is replete with the constant tension between objective values and subjective judgments. This tension is deepened when artists discover new aesthetic parameters that may appeal for various reasons, be they related to our biological heritage, or simply to fashion or novelty. Still, the central question remains: when the fashion and novelty expire, could their work ever become a permanent patrimony of humankind without a resonance induced by some biologically inherent parameters?
艺术的历史中永远充满着客观价值和主观评价之间的紧张关系。这种紧张关系随着艺术家发现了新的美学参数而加深，这些美学参数的发现可能有着不同的原因，可能同我们的生物学遗传有关，或者仅仅与时尚和新颖有关。但是，问题的核心仍然存在：当时尚和新颖已经失效的时候，如果没有生物遗传性参数导致的共鸣的话，这些作品还能成为人类永恒的遗产吗？
注：PLoS One是美国公共科学图书馆2006年12月新发布的一本电子杂志。美国公共科学图书馆是开放获取运动的主要推动者之一，PLoS One采用“发表收费、阅读免费”的运营模式，以及“先发表、后评价”的选稿原则。}[/ |
发表于 2007-11-27 23:41:55
