Project Description
This project will examine the effect of depressive symptoms on our perception, attention, and emotional responses to art and other aesthetic objects. While philosophical aesthetics has a long tradition of analyzing “the aesthetic attitude” and the conditions for proper aesthetic appreciation, and clinical research in psychology and psychiatry has documented depression’s effects on affect and cognition, the overlap remains underexplored. Student researchers will gain expertise on ways that scholars from various disciplines have approached depression and aesthetic experience and provide assistance in synthesizing these findings into a philosophical argument.
Prerequisites
Students must be rising senior philosophy majors
Special Comments
Project Information (subject to change)
Estimated Start Date: 6/8/2026
Estimated End Date: 7/17/2026
Estimated Project Duration: 6 weeks
Maximum Number of Students Sought: 2
Research Location: Remote
Travel Required? No (If “yes”: )
Contact Information: Angela Sun (email: asun@wlu.edu)