The situatedness of aesthetic emotions: a review of the literature and a proposal for its study in variationist linguistics

Abstract

This paper explores the situatedness of aesthetic emotions, emphasizing their cultural, historical, and contextual variability. It critiques the Western-centric framework that often dominates the study of aesthetic emotions, arguing for a more inclusive approach that recognizes the influence of diverse cultural practices and beliefs. The paper identifies key research gaps, including the need for a comprehensive lexicon of aesthetic emotions across languages, the impact of social and cultural factors on aesthetic evaluations, and the historical evolution of aesthetic emotion expressions. It integrates insights from psychological constructionist models, which view aesthetic emotions as emerging from the interplay of prior knowledge and contextual cues, rather than from a universal affective core. The study employs a sociocognitive framework and a corpus-based onomasiological methodology to analyze metaphorical patterns related to aesthetic emotions in multiple languages, including Spanish, English, Old English, and Japanese. The findings highlight the importance of linguistic diversity and cultural context in shaping aesthetic experiences. By addressing these gaps, the paper aims to contribute to more inclusive theories and models that reflect human diversity, ultimately informing broader debates on multiculturalism and inclusivity in the study of aesthetic emotions.