Why the Arts Matter
How Art Shapes Our Thinking, Identity, and Wellbeing
Will be published approx. on 16. July 2026
Book
Hardback
204 pages
978-1-009-34428-9 (ISBN)
Description
The arts are many things: a source of entertainment, an industry, and even in some cases a luxury item or status symbol. In this book, a philosopher and a cognitive scientist argue that, most foundationally, the arts are fundamental to who we are, a source of transformation and transcendence. Drawing on real-world examples - from visual art and poetry, to music and performance - they offer a powerful framework for understanding how art engagement fosters intellectual growth and emotional insight. Each chapter features thought-provoking artworks that invite readers to reflect on their own experiences and grapple with essential questions about empathy, creativity, and what it means to live well. Rich in scholarship yet grounded in everyday relevance, this work offers fresh ways to think about the role of the arts in both individual and collective life. It offers the perfect jumping-off point for anyone curious about how the arts shape our minds.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
ISBN-13
978-1-009-34428-9 (9781009344289)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Aleksandra Sherman | Clair Morrissey
Why the Arts Matter
How Art Shapes Our Thinking, Identity, and Wellbeing
Book
approx. 07/2026
Cambridge University Press
€27.50
Not yet published
Persons
Aleksandra Sherman is Professor of Cognitive Science and Director of the Center for Research and Scholarship at Occidental College. She is an award-winning research mentor and has published across the sciences, humanities, and arts. Sherman's research program exploring the intersection of empirical aesthetics, the arts, and multisensory perception has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. Clair Morrissey is Professor of Philosophy and Director for Partnerships with Los Angeles at Occidental College. She is an award-winning teacher whose interdisciplinary and cross-divisional work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, Bringing Theory to Practice, and the National Institutes of Health. Morrissey specializes in moral philosophy, including the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. She is author of The Virtue of Wit: Humor, Social Connection and Flourishing (2025).
Content
Introduction; 1. Art as a source of knowledge; 2. The arts and becoming a better observer; 3. Cultivating emotional intelligence through the arts; 4. The arts, open-mindedness, and creativity; 5. Self, identity, and transformation; 6. Well-being, flourishing, and the arts; Conclusion: Making the arts matter; Bibliography; Index.