The thinking-I and the being-I in psychology of the arts

The thinking-I and being-I are complementary facets of aesthetic creativity and reception. The thinking-I encompasses perception, cognition, and refle ction, whereas the being-I includes representation, unconscious dynamic pro cesses, and transcendence. An intellectual appreciation of art requires att ention to sensory processes that embody style as well as an attempt to deve lop a coherent understanding of the subject matter of the work, visual or l iterary, and to relate it to various contexts including the world of the ar tist or author. In relation to the self; an artistic or literary work can e xplicitly represent significant personal meaning and implicitly embody unco nscious meanings. An understanding of these explicit and implicit meanings provides a basis for transcendence or personal growth.