The theory of life effect is an artistic theory based on the discovery of a universal invariant that can be found in the texts written by great artists of all times and in all cultures.

It postulates the existence of an innate aptitude of homo sapiens for art. It proposes that a work of art is successful when it creates in the body-mind of the recipient an ‘effect’ that awakens not only the affect, but all faculties, and does so in a coherent manner. 

A work of art is therefore a living work, and a work of life. In order to study it, one needs a specific human science that is able to integrate the rich contributions of the other sciences that study art, as well as to examine closely the corollaries of the life effect invariant.