Using Aesthetic response - A poetic inquiry to expand knowing, Part II: Some theoretical perspectives on arts-based research

Abstract: Some Theoretical Perspectives on Arts-based Research
Research methods based in aesthetics can, apart from being inspired from both an interpretive and a constructivist tradition, thrive from a clear rationale concerning its perceptual building-blocks in both the intersubjective and intra-psychological domains. The complexity of sharing implicit processes and tacit knowledge in the arts-based inquiry is reflected, along with theoretical perspectives of such undertakings. A theoretical rationale for why to add and acknowledge important perceptual and affective building blocks in arts-based research (ABR) is given. Through theories from expressive arts therapy, heuristic inquiry, attachment theory and contemporary affective neuroscience some thoughts on the embodied felt sense as a perceptual hub is shared. Based in contemporary attachment theory and psychotherapy research, a rationale is given for why engaging in ABR can offer clinicians and researchers a deepened understanding of the studied phenomena. The arts-based inquiry can, from this perspective, be considered as a privileged way to nuance and enlarge understanding in both the intersubjective and intra-psychological domain.