What Are Aesthetics?

When questioning the possibility of an aesthetic judgment criterion, we need to consider many different opinions already existing. For centuries, great philosophers like David Hume and Emanuel Kant tried to answer this eternal question. However, understanding and interpretation of art continues to evolve. This makes it difficult to find clear and concise answers. Throughout this article, we will discuss and explain in more detail the previous views and opinions on this point, focusing on the philosopher David Hume's idea, then criticism of Noel Carroll's Hume's philosophy.

The discussion on "aesthetics" in daily aesthetics is not unique to this discourse. Whether it is art, nature, pop culture or everyday objects or activities, the essence of aesthetics has always been the focus of long-term discussion in aesthetics. However, in the concept of "aesthetics" in daily aesthetics, at least two points are particularly meaningful and important. The first one is a state of physical experience. When you get sensory stimulation you can feel the smell of baked goods, the silky feel of the skin, the taste of sushi, the feeling of massage and so on. They can also come from physical activity such as running, cutting vegetables, using tools or mowing lawn. Discussion as to whether these physical emotions belong to aesthetics is not new.

Part of the misunderstanding of aesthetics lies in the word itself. In its original broadest meaning, aesthetics means pleasure or painful feeling that human beings feel through sensation. In this sense, regardless of coincidence or design, all products have aesthetic appeal. The sound of closing the door, the texture of the control surface, the visual appearance of the software interface information, the smell of plastic and metal, the taste of the medicine: everything is an example of a formal aesthetic element. Over time, aesthetics has a second, more limited meaning as aesthetic research and theory. The psychological, social, cultural and philosophical meaning of aesthetics is a complex and deep subject. One way to understand the state of aesthetics in design is how to guide human perception products.