Persuasive Force: The Role of Aesthetic Experience in Moral Persuasion. This project will make a significant contribution to the pressing contemporary topic of moral motivation. Because of its innovative approach to the problem of moral motivation this proposal will have an international impact on debates over moral conduct and raise the international profile of Australia in this field. In addition to its academic benefits for research training and our national research reputation, this proposal ....Persuasive Force: The Role of Aesthetic Experience in Moral Persuasion. This project will make a significant contribution to the pressing contemporary topic of moral motivation. Because of its innovative approach to the problem of moral motivation this proposal will have an international impact on debates over moral conduct and raise the international profile of Australia in this field. In addition to its academic benefits for research training and our national research reputation, this proposal has implications for the way social policy is devised. In particular, the reconsideration of the sources of moral action proposed here has important implications for understanding the dynamics involved in religious fundamentalism and political violence.Read moreRead less
Taste and community: the cultural origins of personal experience. This project explores how artistic value and meaning are attributed to artworks and how cultural artefacts and imaginative constructs may be seen to motivate ethical or socially oriented behaviour. It investigates this theme through an innovative new medium, involving a website and imagery, through which the expertise of philosophers and artists can be brought to bear on a social problem. Its outcomes will include new understandi ....Taste and community: the cultural origins of personal experience. This project explores how artistic value and meaning are attributed to artworks and how cultural artefacts and imaginative constructs may be seen to motivate ethical or socially oriented behaviour. It investigates this theme through an innovative new medium, involving a website and imagery, through which the expertise of philosophers and artists can be brought to bear on a social problem. Its outcomes will include new understanding of the process of perceiving meaning and value as a response to cultural artefacts.Read moreRead less
Improving decision-making processes in complex environments. This project will develop a new approach to understanding the factors involved in complex decision making. It will investigate the processes and mechanisms that individuals use to make decisions in complex environments. This project will also show that one way individuals deal with the problem of complexity is to frame their experiences aesthetically.
Aesthetic Education and Public Galleries. To study how galleries can enhance the quality of public engagement with the works of art on show. All galleries want to do this, but there is much uncertainty about how to understand 'quality of engagement' and about what galleries could and should do to enhance this. We shall provide conceptual analysis and a practical model for the provision of aesthetic education in public galleries. This will be a substantial contribution to a widely acknowledged p ....Aesthetic Education and Public Galleries. To study how galleries can enhance the quality of public engagement with the works of art on show. All galleries want to do this, but there is much uncertainty about how to understand 'quality of engagement' and about what galleries could and should do to enhance this. We shall provide conceptual analysis and a practical model for the provision of aesthetic education in public galleries. This will be a substantial contribution to a widely acknowledged problem. We hope to provide a workable model which can be used in gallery practice.Read moreRead less