We are more than familiar with such expressions: “She has absolutely no taste!”, Or “This man obviously has a taste!”, And even more often we hear “Made with taste”. It’s clear that this is not about food. In this article we will try to reveal such a concept as aesthetic taste. This is something that is inherent in all of us, that is part of the personality of each person. This is one of many prisms through which we see the world around us.
Analysis and interpretation of the term
So, for starters, you need to systematize everything and decide what the aesthetic taste is. This is an internal sensation or even a feeling that forms in our consciousness satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a particular phenomenon, object, action, etc. It is worth noting that there are so-called generally accepted “beautiful” objects and phenomena that cause everyone’s emotional satisfaction ( or representatives of a particular culture), but there are individual ones. An example for the first category is the painting of Leonardo da Vinci, any - everyone will admire it. An example for the second category is the wardrobe object. Someone will like him very much, the other person will begin to annoy. Actually, this is the very concept of aesthetic taste of a person, but we will tell a little more about why everything turned out that way.
History
It may seem to you that a person has been endowed with such a feeling as taste since he appeared on Earth, and you will be absolutely right. We are intelligent creatures, and even living in caves, our ancestors learned to draw on the stones exactly beautiful patterns that would please the eye. Of course, at a time when such powers as Egypt, China, Babylon appeared on the world map, the kingdom of aesthetics already dominated people. Only he was not characterized in any way, did not realize that this is and why this is happening. People were simply guided by the concepts of “like” / “dislike”, “beautiful” / “ugly”, etc. For the first time, mankind spoke of this concept from a scientific point of view only in the Renaissance, when the cult of beauty exceeded all former limits. German philosophers have finally formed the judgment that we are still guided by: aesthetic taste is the ability of a person to distinguish beautiful from ugly.
What comes first?
This question will always be relevant for philosophers of the whole world and of all times. It is a matter of matter and consciousness - what appeared earlier? So far, they have not given the right answer, and it is for this reason that the second problem “flowed” out of it - what primarily forms a person? His own consciousness or society? It will be very difficult to answer, primarily because all people are different. We clearly see how some individuals succumb to the influence of the media, go on about fashion and politics, while others live their own, abstract life. But in order to explain such a phenomenon as the formation of an aesthetic taste, we take the following principle as a basis: initially, society is influenced by a person, introducing norms and orders in his mind. This happens easily, as he is still a child and has no experience. In the future, the person begins to "dig" in herself, and she has new outlooks on life.
Family and basic principles
This is the first and key source of the formation of taste, which acts both on a conscious level and on a subconscious. On the part of parents, an aesthetic taste in the child is raised through the commission of certain acts, behavior, manners, etc. These are the basic principles of our interaction with society. It may seem at first glance: where is the aesthetics? But it is everywhere, permeates every sphere of being. Remember, did it happen to you that you didn’t like a person and annoyed you because he was just that - with his appearance, with his facial expressions and gestures? This is because other behavioral motives are in your subconscious that contradict its motives - that’s the resonance. The brain defines them as negative, ugly, ugly, and you begin to experience an antipathy to the interlocutor.
Family and further development
After the basis of your worldview - intonation, habits, manners - formed and took on a clear outline, you began to critically evaluate other people from an aesthetic point of view, the stage of development of artistic and aesthetic taste begins. This is the same branch of development when we are sent to study in drawing schools, in music institutions, in theater groups, etc. There, a child gets acquainted with his aesthetic "idols." For example, a boy goes to learn to play the violin. In his mind, such an idea forms: "Classical music is beautiful. It is melodious, calm, deep, has a hidden meaning. Definitely, it is beautiful." In the future, he will pass any musical works through this prism, and even if he loves other styles of performance, he will compare them with the classics.
In free swimming
When a person grows up, he has behind him the luggage of aesthetic “skills” that he received through parenting, and with it he begins to independently master the environment. That is, consciousness is already fully formed, and looking at a particular object, a person can evaluate it as beautiful or disgusting, of course, relying on previously acquired knowledge. But this does not end there, but, one might say, it is just beginning: here we are talking about the development of aesthetic taste and its transformation. An adult begins to expand his consciousness, more painstakingly assess the world around him. Again, back to our boy. So he became an adult violinist. But he understands that the world is not the only classic who, and if one bumps into this style alone, can be boring and uninteresting for society. Playing the violin, he begins to master folk motifs, perhaps begins to become interested in gypsy music. And now she has become for him another corner of the beautiful, and everything connected with such sounds is beautiful for him.
Our culture and our society
Do not forget that aesthetic taste is also the merit of the society in which we were born and live. The oldest and most understandable explanation for this phenomenon was given by scientists who lived in the 19th century. They told the world that, in the view of wild African tribes, a beautiful woman should have a long neck, a sagging chest, a nose pierced in the center by a bone, and other "accessories" inherent in the tribe. It is clear that for a person with a European worldview such beauty is unclear and is in great doubt. But all the men of that tribe are sure that she is the main beauty.
Today, world culture is becoming more synchronized. In all countries, people love opera and Renaissance paintings; everywhere the same offenses are considered sinful. Therefore, it became easier to communicate with people from different corners of the planet - we began to understand each other. But even better - each culture has its own small, but significant differences. And for this reason it is so interesting to study other ethnic groups, their aesthetic views and worldview.