Hmm …

… How experimental psychology can help us understand art | Aeon Essays. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Today, experimental philosophers and philosophically inclined psychologists are designing experiments that can help to answer some of the big philosophical questions about the nature of art and how we experience it – questions that have puzzled people for centuries, such as: why do we prefer original works of art to forgeries? How do we decide what is good art? And does engaging with the arts make us better human beings?

I don’t thinking that knowing Bach borrowed some themes from J. K. D. Fischer for use in his Well-Tempered Clavier in any way causes us to think less of Bach’s work.