Darwinian Aesthetics Informs Traditional Aesthetics

Another domain located, in part, in the realm beyond rationality and control is the study of learners’ interest. The study of interest has exam- ined the degree to which learners’ are enjoying an activity or topic, pre- fer one thing rather than another, and want to continue with an activity in the near and distant future. Of particular relevance to this essay is the attention given to the inspired, emergent quality of engaging experi- ences (Renninger, Hidi, & Krapp, 1992). Their constructs of situational interest (a characteristic...