Expressive qualities. A Proposal Based on Piana’s Phenomenological Structuralism

In this paper, I deal with some phenomenological aspects of expressive qualities. I argue in favor of two main theses: 1) that expressive qualities can be conceived as global qualities of Gestalts, and 2) that expressive qualities depend, even though arguably not exclusively, on the inner dynamic tendencies of the elements constituting the object to which the expressive qualities seem to pertain. In arguing for these theses, I refer to Giovanni Piana’s philosophical reflection on the structure of perceptual experience and its laws, trying to show how Piana’s work may be of vital importance for a phenomenological analysis of the phenomenon of expressivity.