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aesthete

aesthete  /ˈɛsθit or, especially Brit., ˈis-/ Pronunciation Key - [es-theet or, especially Brit., ees-]

noun

1. a person who has or professes to have refined sensitivity toward the beauties of art or nature.

2. a person who affects great love of art, music, poetry, etc., and indifference to practical matters.

es·thete (stht) - [Origin: 1880–85; <>aisthēts one who perceives, equiv. to aisthē- (var. s. of aisthánesthai to perceive) + -tēs n. suffix denoting agent]

noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

aes·thete or es·thete (stht)

n.

1. One who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature.

2. One whose pursuit and admiration of beauty is regarded as excessive or affected.

[Back-formation from aesthetic.]

Beauty

Beauty is a value associated with an innate and emotional perception of life's affirmative and meaningful aspects within objects in the perceived world – e.g. vitality, fertility, health, happiness, goodness, and love. Cognition of "beauty" involves the interpretation of objects as being in balance and harmony with nature, which in turn elicits a sense and experience of attraction, affection, and pleasure.

In its most profound sense, beauty is said to engender a salient experience of positive reflection with regard to the meaning of one's own being within natural life. An "object of beauty" may be anything that reveals or resonates with a personal meaning. Hence religious and moral teachings have often focused on the divinity and virtue of beauty, to assert natural beauty as an aspect of a spiritual beauty (e.g. truth) and to define all self-centered or materialistic pretensions as based in ignorance. The ancient story of Narcissus for example, deals with the distinction between recognizing beauty and falling into vanity. The presence of the self in any human context means that beauty is naturally tied to its human meaning, wherein human beauty is often the dominant aspect of a greater natural beauty. Otherwise, objects can be defined as belonging to any of various types, such as "artificial," or "intellectual" beauty.

In the modern context, the usage of beauty as means to promote an ideology or dogma has been a focus of societal debates which center around issues of prejudice, ethics, and human rights. The usage of beauty for purposes of commercialism is a controversial aspect of the "culture wars," wherein feminism typically claims such usage promotes a dogmatic (e.g. "The Beauty Myth") rather than a virtuous understanding of beauty. The literal opposite of beauty is ugliness – i.e. the perceived lack of beauty, which stimulates displeasure and engenders a deeper negative perception of the object.

Reaction: I sort of wonder why I haven't yet tired of superficiality. I remember dating a guy once just because he was incredibly beautiful. Three of my closest friends got fed up with me because I was so into him. He and I could scarcely hold a conversation. My friends said--you'll get bored of him soon enough.

We slept together for a while, and after a week of doing so, I remember waking to him in the morning brushing his teeth. His back and his ass were so incredibly beautiful and flawless. I simply thought-I don't think I would ever tire of this. I think I can do this for at least ten years. The relationship ended. However, not becaause I got bored of getting hard everytime I saw him.

When I was in preschool, the assignments would often consist of coloring-in some picture. I remember the first time I brought mine back. I was called by a few of the staff members to speak with them. I thought I was in trouble. They were upset because I had not done my own assignment. They said that I shouldn't have brought back a coloring done by my parents. I said I had done it. I told them my parents did not have time to color. After a little discussion, they realized I was not lying, and then they sort of just looked at each other and at my coloring quizically.

While aestheticism is apparently not easily tired, I know vanity is. I hope the latter wears out quick. Like in the above Wikipedia excerpt, they do seem to be in some way inimical.