Conceptualizing the aesthetic experience: using the influence matrix to show causal relationships between basic concepts in aesthetics

摘要

Previous research has shown that using tools from systems science for teaching and learning in the Humanities offers innovative insights that can prove helpful for both students and lecturers. Our contention here is that a method used in systems science, namely the influence matrix, can be a suitable tool to facilitate the understanding of elementary notions in Aesthetics by means of systematizing this process. As we will demonstrate in the upcoming sections, the influence matrix can help us to understand the nature and function of the basic elements that take part in the aesthetic experience and their evolving relevance in the history of Aesthetics. The implementation of these elements to an influence matrix will contribute to a more detailed understanding of (ⅰ) the nature of each element, (ⅱ) the interrelation between them and (ⅲ) the influence each element has on all the others.