beauty changes everything
I started Aesthetics Research Lab (ARL) in 2016 because I sensed that there were people around the world, in unexpected professions and disciplines, who had an affinity toward aesthetics, even if they didn't know the jargon or theories. I also never understood why my discipline (philosophy) focuses conversations about aesthetics so much on art alone. … Continue reading 7 Year Summary
Theories of taste ran rampant in the eighteenth century, but things have settled down a bit in academic circles. Despite all the books on aesthetics, few people (if any) have offered new theories of aesthetic taste. Yet we live in a time where the exercise of taste has become quite pervasive. Content creators and audiences … Continue reading What is Aesthetic Taste?
One of the more fascinating books I’ve read recently is Lauren F. Klein’s An Archive of Taste: Race and Eating in the Early United States. Klein writes that “in the late colonial era and into the early republic, America’s cultural and political leaders identified a causal relation between the cultivation of the American palate and … Continue reading Eating and the Tasteful Subject