Winckelmann on Taste: A Somaesthetic Perspective

This article argues that somaesthetic thinking is central to Winckelmann's theory of artistic taste, rendering it more relevant to contemporary aesthetic contexts. After briefly defining this perspective and the importance of somatic cultivation in Winckelmann's life, the article first explores how somatic factors are crucial in Winckelmann's account of how good artistic taste originated in ancient Greece. It then examines how somatic feelings play a central role in determining a person's aptitude for properly appreciating beauty in art and how those feelings operate in the judgment of taste. The article concludes by examining Winckelmann's use of bodily reactions and somaesthetic reflection in his own critical practice, purveying a somatically grounded model of strong feelings tempered with composed understanding.     

Mental Health and Mental Disorder: A Sociological Approach,edited by Arnold M. Rose

This paper presents a model of group analysis based on Aristotle's causal notions. Aristotle's concept of man as a social animal provides a philosophical rationale for an interpersonal treatment forum. His causal theory supplies an encompassing atheoretical model for examining, understanding, and changing “things which have in themselves the source of their changing or staying unchanged.”

Attention to the four causal foci is suggested as the basis for a full-ranging group analysis. Material cause examines: “what” makes a thing what it is. Efficient cause investigates “how” various behaviors and emotions are set in motion. Final cause searches out “where” behavior is aimed. Formal cause traces “why” behaviors take particular forms.

It is suggested that a “cause for pause,” in the ongoing group process, is the emergence of a powerful and specifiable trend, whether a transference, poignant interaction, or groupwide conflict. The “pause to cause” is examined in detail, as each causal foci is elaborated. A sequential analysis moving from “what > how > where > why” is suggested at three levels of possible intervention: individual, interpersonal, and group as a whole. In conclusion, the timing, advantages, and restrictions of such a causal approach are considered.