Aesthetic Lives

Abstract

We can start to understand why aesthetic life matters by imagining life without aesthetic value. What would we miss out on? A lot of pleasure and excitement, for sure, but that’s not nearly everything. A life without aesthetic value would be a life without an important part of ourselves and without a unique and profound source of community. Aesthetic life matters because it allows us to freely explore and cultivate our individuality in ways that create and sustain special forms of community. This chapter makes this point through a detailed analogy with food. Food is what is worthy of eating, where eating is a complex social practice that sustains health, creativity, and social life. Likewise, aesthetic value is what is worthy of aesthetic valuing, where the practice of aesthetic valuing is oriented around goods of freedom, individuality, and community.