Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten was an 18th-century philosopher who significantly influenced aesthetics, the study of beauty and art. He introduced the concept of "taste" as an ability to discern quality and beauty in art and nature, equating it to a form of judgment that is both personal and culturally informed. Baumgarten emphasized that aesthetic emotions arise from our encounters with beauty, encouraging a deeper appreciation of art's emotional and sensory dimensions. His work laid the foundation for later thinkers in aesthetics, helping to shape our understanding of how we experience and evaluate art and beauty in our lives.