Affordances of the Cerrado:

on how the philosophy of perception can contribute to a brazilian aesthetic and ethic

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present a representational theory of affordances* to reflect on an aesthetic and an ethic of the Cerrado. For this purpose, Gibson's ecological theory of perception will be presented, revisited by an anti-intellectualist non-conceptualist in relation to what is non-conceptual and an intellectualist conceptualist in relation to what is conceptual. Thus, a theory in which affordances* do not structure perception but are concepts capable of recognizing in objects and properties the possibilities of embodied actions. The text aims to show that by expanding the framework of non-conceptual experiences and conceptual knowledge about the Cerrado, people recognize more possibilities for action in the environment. With this broad knowledge, they can choose appropriate actions in the environment they perceive, including the production of works of art. The representational theory of affordances* stands as an alternative to the problem of defining an aesthetic theory that can account for this geographical space called Brazil, as it investigates relationships in a specific and predominant environment in Brazil: the Cerrado.