Is taste culturally conditioned?
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Question
Culturally conditioned taste?
Answer
The view that aesthetic judgements are shaped by the culture and upbringing you grew up in.
Question
Evidence that taste is learned?
Answer
Training turns 'noise' into gripping music — education reshapes taste, so a lot of it is conditioned, not inborn.
Question
Abhinavagupta's sahṛdaya?
Answer
The cultivated, sensitive spectator — 'one with heart' — trained and refined enough to truly receive art.
Question
How do Gombrich, Hume and Abhinavagupta connect?
Answer
All make the spectator central: the viewer completes the work, better judges exist, and the deepest experience needs a cultivated viewer.
Question
Is taste ENTIRELY cultural?
Answer
No — culture shapes it heavily, but some beauty (a sunset, a baby's face) crosses cultures, so 'entirely' goes too far.
Question
How does education 'improve' taste, not just change it (Hume)?
Answer
Trained judges notice more detail and compare more widely, so they see more — genuinely better, not merely different.
Question
Aesthetics on the exam?
Answer
An optional theme → Paper 1 Section B: an essay on a set question, no stimulus [25], usually 'Evaluate' or 'Discuss'.
Question
The topic's arc in one line?
Answer
Aesthetic experience (Gombrich) → beauty & taste (Hume) → aesthetic judgement (Kant) → is taste cultural? (Abhinavagupta).
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Aesthetic experience and judgement
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