Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology
Abstract
How does the experience of one’s own body contribute to aesthetic experience? This article answers the question from the point of view of phenomenological psychology by portraying how the body is lived from within in intense experiences with works of visual art. Based on descriptions of aesthetic experiences juxtaposed with phenomenological insights about the body and, in particular, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s thoughts on concrete and abstract movement, it is shown how the lived body gives form to the experience. The experience of one’s own body reflects the expressions of the works of art and comprises not only movement, and with it tangible, bodily sensations, but also an imaginative form of bodily reception through which one succumbs to the work of art. It appears likely that bodily receptivity manifests changes in the perception of the work of art from a concrete object to a work of expressive depth.
Recommended Citation
Roald, T., & Essom-Stenz, A. (2025). "Let Your Body Do the Talkin'": An Investigation of Aesthetic Experience Through Phenomenological Psychology. Duquesne Studies in Phenomenology, 5 (1). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/dsp/vol5/iss1/9
Included in
Aesthetics Commons, Continental Philosophy Commons, Dance Commons, Fine Arts Commons, History of Philosophy Commons, Other Philosophy Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons
