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Definition:
In philosophy, aesthetics is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the form of
the comic, the tragic or the sublime. Traditionally, aesthetics has often been part
of other philosophical pursuits, like the investigation of epistemology or ethics.
However, it started to come into its own under Kant who saw aesthetics as a unitary
and self-sufficient type of human experience.
Unfortunately, aesthetics is one of those concepts which is not easily broken down into simpler ideas. In general, when we speak of something that creates an aesthetic experience, we are usually talking about some form of art, but ultimately it can be anything which arouses sensual responses - either positive or negative.
Even art does not necessarily create an aesthetic experience. When we look at a painting in an effort to determine how much we can sell it for, we are not viewing it aesthetically.
Those studying aesthetics seek to understand, for example, why some things arouse positive reactions whereas others arouse more negative feelings. The very question of how and why aesthetic experiences are created is also a subject of aesthetics. The word derives from the Greek aisthetikos, which means "of sense perception."
Aesthetics also leads us to a variety of other issues regarding politics, morality, and more. For example, some have argued that an important component of the aesthetic experience is the desire for political action - thus, "good" art is that which gets us to try and improve society. With regards to morality, it has often been argued that certain images or ideas are inherently immoral and, hence, do not create a valid aesthetic experience. Anything with a strong sexual content has often been included in such a category, but many political leaders have also included material which does not encourage people to follow the dictates of the state.
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Related Resources:
What is Aesthetics?
In philosophy, aesthetics is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the form of the comic, the tragic or the sublime. Aesthetics has traditionally been part of other philosophical pursuits like the investigation of epistemology or ethics. However, it started to come into its own and become a more independent pursuit under Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher who saw aesthetics as a unitary and self-sufficient type of human experience.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
