Taste

Abstract

The essay is a brief study of aesthetic taste. It shows that this notion appears in 17th-century aesthetics, is vigorously developed in the process of numerous 18th-century discussions in various European countries (France, England, Russia, Germany, etc.) and becomes part of aesthetic theory as one of its principal categories. The essay demonstrates that the category of taste denotes a particular innate ability to become a subject of aesthetic experience – namely, an ability to perceive and/or create aesthetically, to act and experience aesthetically – that every human being possesses to a certain extent. In aesthetically gifted persons taste develops to a high degree practically from birth, and as a rule they often choose the path of creators of art. However, the majority of humans are born with a mere potential to develop taste over a longer period of time. Their taste can be developed to a rather high level as a result of aesthetic (artistic) education, first of all by using examples of true art as well as natural phenomena.