Aesthetics and the Brain

So beauty is in the prefrontal cortex of the beholder.

Also in the prefrontal cortex is a sort of moral sense. When it is lacking, Antisocial Personality Disorder results. Also known as psychopathy or sociopathy, it involves:

* Failure to conform to social norms * Deceitfulness * Impulsiveness * Irritability and aggressiveness * Reckless disregard for safety * Consistent irresponsibility * Lack of remorse (taken from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx7.htm )

Sufferers from APD can also be charming, which can enable them to escape punishment for their actions. Little children often have APD-like behavior, including being charming, but they typically outgrow it.

I’m not sure what adaptive value an esthetic sense may have; it may be a side effect of something else. However, some moral sense whose lack produces APD does seem like a good adaptation for sociality; one would

* Respect social norms * Be honest * Be non-impulsive * Be difficult to provoke * Be concerned about safety * Be responsible * Feel guilty about misconduct

It would be interesting to study how well-developed this brain region is in monkeys and apes, and if one can track its development in the hominid fossil record.