Great Expectations—Narratives and the Elicitation of Aesthetic Chills

Abstract

We clarify the relation between the perception of narratives and aesthetic emotions by relating them to mechanisms of knowledge-acquisition. Stories elicit emotions by diverging from expectations one may formulate on the basis of their properties. The greater the divergence, the stronger the emotion. Models of emotions, expectations, and knowledge-acquisition are briefly presented. We relate them to research pertaining to narrative structures and provide a mathematical description for aesthetic emotions. We conclude by underlining the fundamental role played by aesthetic emotions in the workings of the human mind.

Physics of the Mind

“…This theoretical prediction have been experimentally confirmed (Perlovsky et al, 2010; Schoeller and Perlovsky, 2015, 2016). Relation of aesthetic emotions to knowledge was established by Kant (1790), although he could not formulate his thoughts with mathematical precision, the adequate mathematics did not exist at the time.…”

“…Some processes could never become conscious; others can be accessed by consciousness with significant mental effort, as in creative processes; still others become conscious under changing circumstances without special effort. Many theoretical predictions have been confirmed in experiments (Kosslyn, 1980; Grossberg, 1988; Perlovsky et al, 2010; Schoeller and Perlovsky, 2015, 2016). …”

“…So, I would again emphasize that the theoretically predicted properties of the emotions of the beautiful, their relations to the meaning of life are unexpected in contemporary aesthetics and contradictory to accepted views. Nevertheless these theoretical predictions have been experimentally tested and confirmed (Schoeller and Perlovsky, 2015, 2016), which is the fundamental property of the science of physics of the mind.…”

“…His thoughts have not been understood by his followers. Aesthetic emotions are related to learning and understanding at every level of the mental hierarchy, understanding is pleasant (Perlovsky, 2001, 2006a; Perlovsky et al, 2011; Schoeller and Perlovsky, 2015, 2016). But we do not relate understanding at lower levels to the beautiful.…”

“…At lower levels aesthetic emotions could be below consciousness. At the top of the hierarchy the highest aesthetic emotions are emotions of the beautiful, sometimes these emotions could be strong and even produce physiological effects, aesthetic chills (Perlovsky, 2002, 2006a, 2007c, 2008a, 2010b,c; Mayorga and Perlovsky, 2008; Schoeller and Perlovsky, 2015, 2016). …”