Ronalyn D.

Zorilla
BSTM 302

WHAT IS AESTHETIC?
 The word aesthetic is from the Greek word “aesthesis” which means sensory perception.
ALEXANDER BAUMGARTEN (1714-1762)
 The word “aesthetics” was first employed by Baumgarten to mean “the sience of sensory perception.”
Particularly, he used it to denote a realm of concrete knowledge, as distinct from the abstract where
content is communicated in sensory form.
AESTHETIC AND ITS DEFINITION OF ART
 Philosophy of beauty and art
 PHILOSOPHY: Theory about the ultimate reality of things.
 NATURE OF BEAUTY: Why are beautiful things beautiful?
 ESSESNCE OF ART: what makes something a work of art?
Anthropology of Art
 Studies and analyses the wide range of materials and objects produced by people around the world.
These materials include sculpture, masks, paintings, textiles, baskets, pots, weapons, and the human
body itself.
AESTHETIC DEFINITION OF ART
 Art is the creation and appreciation of BEAUTIFUL human-made objects.
 CREATION by the artist in their creativity
 APPRECIATION by the art spectator with artistic taste.
 BEAUTIFUL anything with a value that delights.
 HUMAN-MADE OBJECTS art distinguished from nature.
TWO WAYS OF CONSIDERING BEAUTY
 RELATIVE
 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 ABSOLUTE
 Beauty is in the thing itself.
DIVISION OF AESTHETICS
THEORY OF BEAUTY; nature of beautiful things.
THEORY OF ART; Essence of art
THEORY OF ART CRITICISM; Evaluation of the merit or demerit of works of art.
AESTHETIC TERMS
CATEGORIES OF VALUE
LOGICAL; True and false
ETHICAL; Good and bad
AESTHETIC; Beautiful and ugly
AESTHETIC VALUES
BEAUTIFUL delights
UGLY glooms

HIERARCHY OF BEAUTY
PRETTY; if one has a beautiful shape.
GROTESQUE; if one has an ugly shape.
CUTE; if one has a beautiful size
PIQUANT; if one has an ugly size.
LOVELY; if one has a beautiful sound.
DROLL; if one has an ugly sound.
PLEASANT; beautiful touch.
FANTASTIC; beautiful image.
RIDICULOUS; ugly image.

GREEK AND WESTERN SENSE OF BEAUTY

The big is beautiful.
JAPANESE SENSE OF BEAUTY
The small is beautiful.
The less is beautiful.
MINIMALISM
Use of least number of elements.

THE FILIPINO AESTHETIC WORLDVIEW

FILIPINO SENSE OF BEAUTY
 The colorful is beautiful.

ANALYSIS OF AESTHETIC TERMS ACCORDING TO FILIPINO ANTHROPOLOGY

COVAR; Pagkataong Filipino and the concepts of Labas and loob. The beautiful personhood (Ang
magandang pagkatao).
JOCANO; Filipino Aesthetic Worldview.
WORLDVIEW; A way people look at the universe. People’s picture of the universe that lies deep in
the heart of the culture.
CULTURE; A system of symbols and meanings people use to organize their ideas which they
express through language.
LANGUAGE; Contains words that carries culture.
Analysis of the meaning of words in a language is analysis of the form of culture on which lies
people’s worldview.

DIMENSIONS OF FILIPINO WORLDVIEW

1.Natural Dimension
2.Biological Dimension
3.Communal Dimension
4.Social Dimension
5.Normative Dimension
6.Ethical Dimension
7.Moral Dimension
8.Aesthetic Dimension
9.Teleological Dimension
10.Ideological Dimension

GANDA (BEAUTY)
The primary Filipino aesthetic term
“Sum total of katangian (traits) of anything that gives the highest pleasure to the senses.”
Relative term since its use depends on the judgement of the beholder.
When applied to person, ganda involves both physical appearance (ayos) and social character
(ugali).
Ganda then is about the “totality of the person,” both his pagkataong panlabas (physical
appearance) and his pagkataong panloob (social behavior).
Ganda and buti (good) are interchangeable terms so that whatever is maganda is also mabuti.
Aesthetic taste involves moral judgement.

AESTHETICS OF FILIPINO PERSONHOOD (ESTETIKA NG PAGKATAONG FILIPINO)

Maayos (Pagkataong Panlabas)
Beautiful physical appearance.
Mabuti ang Ugali (pagkataong Panloob)
Good social behavior.
Pagkataong Maganda Pareho sa Labas at Loob (Beautiful Personhood)
Kanais nais. Desirable, Valuable.

THE PHENOMENON OF GANDA

As an effective phenomenon

Ganda is judged in terms of the emotion or the sentiment it evokes from the perceiver.

As an olfactory sense phenomenon

Ganda is judged through scent or sense of smell.

As a behavioral, ethical phenomenon

Ganda is judged in terms of action, public appearance or human relation (ugali).

As a physical phenomenon

Ganda is judged as a concrete entity with physical attributes.

As a capability phenomenon

Ganda is judged as the ability to perform work or do things.