The Art Instinct, Denis Dutton

[ToddStark]

Denis Dutton, founder of Arts and Letters, makes his book available at the onset of 2009. It promises an evolutionary investigation of the origins of human art, motivated by the desire to put aesthetics on a human universal foundation.

It seems likely that the book will rely largely on an argument akin to Geoff Miller's thesis ("The Mating Mind"), which puts the mind in the role of peacock's tail in attracting mates.

Dutton is an art philosopher and critic rather than an evolutionary psychologist, so I expect this to be an interestingly different kind of literary effort.

It's *very* good to see talented writers outside of EP running with the ball.

http://theartinstinct.com/
Bloomsbury Press (U.S./Canada) and Oxford University Press

kind regards,

Todd