EXPLORING THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN EMOTION AND AESTHETICS 185-191

Abstract

Gerald C. Cupchik's work, "Aesthetics of Emotion" and published by Cambridge University Press, explores the relationship between emotion and aesthetics and how the mind and body interact to shape our affections, feelings, and emotions. The work presents Cupchik's Emotional Phase Theory (EPT), which studies the interrelationships between affect, feelings, and emotions, all arranged in a hierarchy that has at its base concrete affections, located at the interface between bodily states and mental experiences. Feelings act both as an element accompanying knowledge in the case of action-oriented theories and as a form of awareness of emotional reactions. Emotions are presented as feelings charged with self-related meanings in real or imaginary social contexts, located at the top of the hierarchy. Cupchik presents emotions as emerging forms that develop in important life situations, based on bodily states, which are neutralized over time through self-regulation efforts.