Further Studies on Aesthetic Values

By definition, ‘aesthetic’ is a set of rules and a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty or the appreciation of beauty. The word was first coined by the German philosopher, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartner in 1753, who helped established the study of aesthetics as a different philosophical field of study (although, the study of the nature of beauty has been pursued for years). 

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartner

Aesthetics also deal with how we see things, how we evaluate them – our perception towards something and whether it was has special qualities – aesthetic qualities.

When it comes to an artwork, there are factors that drive us to evaluate it, mostly base on our taste and sense of judgment. So, when we say an artwork has aesthetic values, what does our praise consist in?  In some philosophical issues, there can’t be any objective standard when it comes to artistic goodness, other than the extent to which large number of people like it (the art). Hugo A. Meynell however, argued that there is objective standard (Meynell, 1986). When it comes to art, the aesthetic value does not lie within the art’s use, but rather on the impact it gives to the individual. The aesthetic value of an artwork is not an objective concept in a sense, but it can be determine (objectively) based on the impact it gives to an individual. 

Aesthetic Values - A mindmap of my understanding

Above is a mindmap of my understanding regarding 'aesthetic values' based on Hugo A. Meynell (The Nature of Aesthetic Value - Macmillan 1986).