Introduction: the aesthetic impulse
An animal in search of stimulation, for pleasure and need : two stories on the forces that drive us towards art and aesthetics
The first humans and the first art
What a sexy tale! key stimuli and attraction : aesthetics in the animal kingdom
The woman in red and the man with the chrome-plated wheels : aesthetics and key stimuli in the human world
The human peacock : body ornamentation and artistic behaviour from tribal society to modern primitives
Who lives here? : decoration, design, and ornamentation on objects and surroundings
Art and the brain's reward system : brain processes and neuroaesthetics
Fiction and narrative : the function of symbolic aesthetics
Summing up the aesthetic impulse : adaptation, cheesecake, or?
Opening the doors of aesthetics : concluding remarks
