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p V. Skatcrshchikov

p By its very nature aesthetic taste appears in the role of a regulator of man’s aesthetic activity and aesthetic perception of the world. The aesthetic relation of society and the individual to concrete natural and social phenomena and to the fruits of aesthetic activity is embodied in it and is given by it either a positive or negative evaluation. True, the mechanism of taste is not the only mechanism of aesthetic evaluation, however it is highly important and essential. Its function in the system of aesthetic consciousness has many different imports. Taste, so to say, appears both as a means of reflecting the aesthetic merit of the most varied objects of reality, as the embodiment of man’s aesthetic attitude to these objects in a directly emotional form, and as the criterion of the perfection or imperfection of activities transforming the world in accordance with the laws of beauty.

p The complexity of the structure of taste, the multitude of its social functions, and the diversity of factors determining its existence and effects were reasons why aesthetics was rather late in coming to analyse this phenomenon. Interest in elaborating the theory of taste was revived in bourgeois aesthetics in the second half of the 19th century and is an object of acute ideological struggle at the present time. A theoretical analysis of taste based on a strictly scientific understanding of the essence of aesthetic assimilation of the world and on consistent dialectical materialistic grounds is being developed only in Marxist aesthetics.

p The judgement of taste contains an evaluation of various beautiful or ugly, harmonious or disharmonious, perfect or imperfect objects and phenomena. Taste represents a stable system of aesthetic likings and concretely defines and “deciphers” aesthetic requirements. In encountering unfamiliar phenomena, man uses his tastes as a criterion of aesthetic evaluation in the 233 form, as it were, of the spontaneously arising judgement “I like it—I don’t like it”, expressed in a direct emotional response. In addition this judgement of taste can pertain not only to definite things and objects but also to their aggregate and to their varieties and types.

p In realising the aesthetic attitude to the world around, aesthetic taste also appears in the form of norms: aesthetic evaluations of new, earlier unknown phenomena, both in the sphere of life and in the realm of art, are programmed in it. At the beginning of its intellectual and emotional development every new generation inherits a system of definite tastes and is guided by them in its aesthetic evaluation of phenomena occurring in life and art. And even having discarded old aesthetic tastes and norms, society retains that objective basis which existed in them, thus guaranteeing the continuity of aesthetic development.

p In the human consciousness aesthetic reflection, realised in aesthetic feeling and aesthetic taste, comes to the aid of abstract thinking during the perception of beauty. Usefulness is cognized through reason, beauty—through the ability to contemplate, said G.V. Plekhanov. Taste cannot entirely be reduced to an ability to contemplate, however Plekhanov’s idea lies in the fact that the direct perception of an aesthetic object, taken in its totality and completeness, the perception of its content through its form, and the sense of its perfection (or imperfection) are the bases of taste.

p A reflection of reality in aesthetic taste is impossible without man’s direct contact with the objects and phenomena being reflected and without a development of aesthetic feeling on which aesthetic taste is based. It is impossible to develop aesthetic taste without a direct, active Association with beauty, and artistic taste—without a perception of works of art. That which is commonly called an “inborn sense of taste" is nothing more than the result of man’s constant practical involvement, be it even not specially directed nor consciously organised, in aesthetically perceiving the world around, the result of the influence ,of the environment in which his personality has been formed from early childhood. Impressions.produced by intercourse with nature and its multiform life, with people, by the architectural environment, the world of music, the mode of life, and activities do not leave man unaffected; their aesthetic significance is indelible. It is highly commendable, if aesthetic taste was noticed or, all the more so, emphasised by other people and was developed under the influence of works of art; however, the decisive role in the affirmation of the aesthetic attitude towards reality is played by man’s practical association with beauty and the socio-psychological atmosphere in 234 which the formative process of his abilities of assessment took place.

p Thus when aims and purposes of utilitarian-pragmatic, consumer kind penetrate man’s inner world they destroy aesthetic aspirations rooted in his very nature. Whereas an unselfish, highly moral attitude to the world and to man, permeated by a striving towards good and sympathy, is favourable grounds for developing a healthy aesthetic attitude. It is on these grounds that the general ability to exercise taste is developed. It acquires a concrete form when applied to the various spheres of aesthetic perception and aesthetic activity.

p Aesthetic taste includes reflection and cognition of the beauty of specific isolated phenomena in the broad reflection of the aestheticsignificance of an entire complex of phenomena, aesthetic situations on the whole, and beauty as unity in diversity and diversity in unity. Aesthetic taste correlates the beauty of an object with the beauty of its parts and its surroundings and with the beauty of the world at large. In this lie the stability and thoroughness of judgement of good taste.

p A strictly logical answer to the question of why a certain being or thing or natural phenomenon is beautiful is, as a rule, highly difficult to obtain, however the judgement of taste, expressed by emotional aesthetic reaction to the object, answers such a question by all the wealth and depth of aesthetic feelings in which the aesthetic experience of the individual is “compressed”; here the mechanism of aesthetic associations is “set in motion”, allowing the comparing of that object with other objects and with its surroundings, and the revealing of the distinctiveness of its beauty.

p We discern a series of “layers” in the structure of aesthetic taste viewed as a form of aesthetic reflection, which intermingle and interact. Such “layers” are the perception and evaluation of the beauty of separate elements of reality or in their aggregate which make up integral phenomena or groups of phenomena, and also their correlation with the surrondings and with the meaning of aesthetic values in personal and social life. Aesthetic taste reflects the properties and elements of harmony in phenomena of reality. The faithfulness of this reflection acts as a criterion of the objectivity of aesthetic taste itself, a criterion allowing that taste to be characterised as true or false, normal or perverted, good or bad.

p The question of the variety of aesthetic tastes is resolved when we examine the objectivity of their content; the diversity of specific manifestations of beauty presupposes a diversity of preferences of tastes.

p However, the variety of aesthetic tastes, and this has long been 235 noticed by philosophers, aestheticians and artists, is also caused by factors of a subjective order rooted in the nature of human sensuousness. It stands to reason that man’s main achievement is not the fact that his senses perceive objects more clearly, subtly and acutely than the senses of animals (and it is not always exactly so) but rather in the fact that they perceive the world in a different way. It has been shown that for man, sensuous perception of an object is not only a signal of the usefulness or harmfulness, and not only data concerning the meaning of that object for the biological functioning of the subject, but is also the initial moment of cognition of that object itself and its nature, essence, and measure. At the same time it is also a step towards realising the significance of that object for the life of man taken in its social and particularly its cultural aspect, and is also an opportunity for deriving sensuous satisfaction from that object’s appearance, movements, qualities, and beauty.

p In this sense the element of subjectivity of the aesthetic perception of the world pointed out above is a universal element, and such subjectivity is not only inherent to all mankind but also constitutes the basis of the community of the aesthetic perception of reality in different eras, and explains the continuity of aesthetic tastes through generations. For ages people have derived pleasure from the beauty of nature, the beauty of the human body, and the beauty of masterpieces created by their hands.

p However, neither mankind nor individual man is an abstraction. A man in a class society is a representative of a definite class and lives in a specific socio-historical environment; every personality is characterised by a certain age, sex, and a certain psychophysiological and psychological nature; every individual has a world outlook and belongs to one national group or another, in short, is a specific and individually unique personality. And its individuality and uniqueness are the source of its subjectivity, but a subjectivity of a different kind; it is a subjectivity which gives birth to a variety of aesthetic tastes and evaluations which are at variance with the tastes and evaluations of other people representing different social groups and classes.

p The quality of the subjectivity of progressive social consciousness is different from that of the regressive. Hence the possibility of formulating the question of correctness of the reflection and evaluations of reality in class consciousness. It is possible to evaluate the aesthetic taste both of a social group and a separate individual, taking into account thereby the fact that individual taste is determined by the content of the social taste, and by the world outlook and class position of the individual.

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p In addition, as I have already mentioned, there are also subjective personal elements in aesthetic taste of the individual which may be defined as developed and undeveloped, broad and narrow, ordinary and refined, and integral and eclectic taste.  [236•1  These concepts characterise the development of the individual’s aesthetic taste and do not always concern its qualitative substance. Taste can be correct and good but still not developed; the trend of its development should be guided by the healthy basis it already has. Subtle, refined taste is not always integral taste and eclectic taste is by no means always perverted taste. Tastes fundamentally opposite in their ideological aims are found to be in a state of constant struggle. The tastes of millions of individuals, equally integral and good in the social sense and at the same time different in the individual aspect coexist, enriching and interacting with each other since they have a common objective basis and rest on a general system of aesthetic consciousness. Such tastes are universal in the social sense, and diverse and individual in the personal sense, constituting a harmonious system of social taste.

p The Marxist-Leninist concept of aesthetic taste is developing on the basis of the theory of reflection and the theory of the essence of human activity, and on a materialist and dialectical understanding of the nature of values.

p Utilitarian, moral, and aesthetic values have an objective basis, and simultaneously they are valuable for man since they satisfy his needs. That which is not a real value in certain conditions can become of value in other. Whether an object, work, or man himself are values for another man or for society as a whole depends both upon the qualities of the phenomenon itself and upon the stage and level of development of the needs which that phenomenon is capable of satisfying. Hence the objective-subjective nature of any value, including aesthetic value.

p From this point of view aesthetic taste is seen as a process of the reflection and evaluation of aesthetic values—real objects, things, natural and social phenomena, and the fruits of human activity and the social relations materialised in them. Taste appears as a fact of aesthetic consciousness in which the ability for directly and sensuously comprehending beauty is enhanced by the ability of thinking, and the reflection of objects in their aggregate and in their pithy, sensuously perceptive forms is attended by an emotional evaluation of them.

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p The question of the correlation of the individual and social taste evaluations of the aesthetic qualities of reality and art arises in connection with this. These phenomena are not to be viewed as simply opposing one another. There is no and cannot be any individual aesthetic evaluation which does not in its essence reflect the opinion of a certain social group; there is no and cannot be any social evaluation which can be expressed apart from the opinions of separate individuals. Of course divergencies between the opinion stated by an individual person and the generally accepted opinion are possible (though in this case one can always determine the social meaning of that “purely individual evaluation”). However, the force of aesthetic influence on man of majestic natural phenomena, outstanding social events or great works of art is determined by their undisputed aesthetic essence which is manifested in the fact that people are united in their aesthetic evaluation of such objects and find a source of immense aesthetic joy in this passion of theirs.

p I spoke of the cognitive function of taste and its significance as a factor of aesthetic evaluation. However, the Marxist-Leninist conception of aesthetic taste is not limited to exposing only its cognitive, evaluative role. Like any fact of consciousness, aesthetic taste is an active factor in the development of human activity, the aim of which is to transform the real world, nature and society. To create according to the laws of beauty means to create in accordance with the requirements of aesthetic taste. It is not only a factor of cognition, but also a stimulus for practical activity. Not only the abilities but also the needs of the individual are “programmed” into aesthetic taste. An examination of taste within the context of human activity will give us a more comprehensive idea of its functions, its workings and the ways and means of cultivating it.

p Aesthetic taste possesses not only a reflective significance, but also one which stimulates practical activity. In each specific case human activity presupposes the existence of a definite aim which directs this activity, has the character of law for the active person, and presents the result of his labour, i.e., of the work done, in an ideal form for him. As one of the stimuli of aesthetic activity aesthetic taste is linked with aesthetic needs and the aesthetic ideal.

p However, if the need for aesthetic pleasure exists as a universal need of man, then its specific nature and the nature of the objects which satisfy it are, in part, dependent upon what the aesthetic taste of the individual is like. An unrefined taste is satisfied with what a person finds by chance in his surroundings and by a passive perception of everything he sees, hears, and feels. An unexacting 238 taste does not strive to choose or select its objects of aesthetic pleasure. A base taste is purposive, but it directs the person towards satisfying his aesthetic need by base, anti-aesthetic means; objects which satisfy such a need are, as a rule, of ugly nature or have a vulgar, utilitarian significance. Therefore, in this case one cannot talk about aesthetic pleasure in the true sense of the idea. The way to such pleasure is paved only by wholesome, good taste. Aesthetic taste, directed at programming the creation of various objects, is always concrete and more definite than taste directed only at perceiving things already made.

p The aesthetic ideal, in relation to aesthetic taste, can be examined in its dual meaning. Firstly, it appears as a factor of social consciousness which defines the criteria of the beautiful used by a specific class or social group at a certain period in history. This ideal is conditioned by the whole system of social being, by economic interests, and also by political, moral, and similar outlooks; it is also linked with the general level of development of social activity and culture, i.e., with the conquering of nature by man, his humaneness, and also with whether or not humanistic standards are present in social relations.

p The aesthetic ideal of society influences the formation of society’s aesthetic taste and determines its social trend. It is as if this taste concentrated within itself all the social experience of aesthetic activity. It is guided by the results attained by the activity and programmes further development. Way of life in its outward manifestations, social rituals, ceremonies, everyday life, fashion—all these, in expressing the aesthetic ideal, influence social taste and at the same time are created and developed under its influence. The presence of certain general features of style in the art of every historical period reflects the existence of such a taste in society. Aesthetic theory substantiates it and artistic practice realises it.

p In addition, man’s activity evolves from the specific activity of specific people. In connection with this it is as if the aesthetic ideal of society were “split up”, turning into a series of the specific aesthetic ideals of separate individuals in reference to the various spheres of their activity. Here the aesthetic ideal appears in its second, more narrow meaning, as a factor of individual aesthetic consciousness. In participating in the aesthetic activity of countless individuals, ideals promote the cultivating in each of them of an idea of the final aim of their activity and what should be achieved as a result of their labour. It is as though the ideal were “broken up" into many specific ideals connected with the solving of some concrete tasks. Individual aesthetic tastes correspond to this 239 second meaning of the concept of ideal. They absorb the experience of the individual personality and its inimitable peculiarities and aesthetic needs guided on the whole by the ideal, tastes and needs of the entire society, but infinitely more varied and specific.

p In this way the aesthetic aim of human activity is embodied in the aesthetic ideal. Aesthetic taste is called upon to collate the compliance of this activity with intention and aim in all stages of the process of their realisation. Aesthetic principle, and therefore aesthetic ideal and aesthetic taste are, as I have already mentioned, characteristic of any trend or type, and thus any sphere of human activity.

p The laws of beauty are manifested in industrial activity as a principle which is necessary to take into account in creating material values. The aesthetic taste of the worker influences both his intention and the appearance of the product being made, and participates in choosing the material, methods of treatment, colours, texture, and the proportion of the parts of the object being produced. True, the most decisive thing in the process-of labour is the functional significance of the article being made, but if not for the demands of aesthetics, then all objects intended for a certain practical purpose would not be as varied and as unique as they really are. One cannot, of course, reduce the requirements of aesthetics only to the desire and taste of the creator; the latter must to a certain extent take into consideration the taste of the consumer. It should be kept in mind, however, that the consumer’s taste is formed to a great extent by that which is produced for him. “An objet d’art creates a public that has artistic taste and is able to enjoy beauty—and the same can be said of any other product.”  [239•1  By these words Marx clearly expressed the necessity of the aesthetic element in any form of practice and defined the role of the products of human activity in forming aesthetic taste.

p And in so far as an aesthetic element is inherent in the very purpose of a man working in the sphere of material production, his aesthetic taste participates in determining to what extent that purpose is realised. The creator himself should make an aesthetic evaluation of his object before the consumer does. And he makes it not only after it is finished, but also during the very process of creating it and in its various stages, always guided by his aesthetic taste.

p It is the same in intellectual activity. Purpose, intention and execution exist in any form of this activity. If the purpose of the scientist is to seek the truth, then both he and those who perceive 240 his work cannot be indifferent to what paths he takes to achieve it and how the results are expressed. The mathematician and physicist see not only the truth of a formula but its beauty as well, just as it is important for a chess-player not only to win the game but also to gain aesthetic satisfaction from it. A point gained as a result of his opponent’s slip is different from one earned as a result of a beautiful combination of moves.

p Aesthetic taste in intellectual activity is also linked with the style of presentation or expression of the thought However, intellectual activity is not limited to outward beauty. Its true aesthetic meaning is inherent in the nature of the thought itself, in its logic, manner of argumentation, wit, and depth. The aesthetic taste of a man involved in intellectual theoretical work cannot be satisfied only by the form of its outward expression; it must also cover its content and give an evaluation of it. .A beautiful phrase in science is often not an object of admiration but an object of criticism. However, an aesthetic evaluation of scientific activity does not completely coincide with the characteristics of its content; thus all the diversity of the elements constituting the products of theoretical activity are aesthetically evaluated, including the structure of a scientific work, the elegance of its proportions, and the scientist’s line of reasoning.

p Aesthetic taste in the activity of a scientist enhances his sense of proportion when emotional evaluative elements are brought into the presentation of theoretical material, when artistic images drawn from works of art are used in proving scientific propositions.

p The role of the aesthetic factor in man’s communicative activity is highly important. Properly speaking, communication permeates all forms of human activity—without communication neither production, nor cognition of the world, nor processes of communicating social experience, nor social struggle, nor art can exist. However, communication possesses its own specific features, including aesthetic features. The aesthetic features of communication are manifested through its basic universal means —language.

p Aesthetic taste in the process of communication has a dual meaning: with its help man is capable of consolidating and intensifying the evaluative side of the communicated information and gains independent aesthetic satisfaction in the very process of communication, and through it, in the subjects of this process, the people participating in it.

p If aesthetic values are created in the process of labour, then everyday life—its tenor and surroundings, the interior of the home,” clothes, man’s behaviour—taken in the broad and narrow meanings of the word, is linked with their utilisation and 241 consumption. Everyday life is also a form of human activity; the consumption of aesthetic values can be creative and non-creative, active and formally passive. This or that type of consumption of aesthetic values is also determined to a great extent by the level and quality of the personality’s aesthetic taste.

p The dialectics of taste is expressed in conjunction with two of its seemingly contradictory functions—-“defensive”, “protective” and “investigating”, “innovative”. However, it is this very contradiction that constitutes the specifics of the nature of taste and stipulates its constant development.

p The cultivating of taste on the basis of traditions—social, national, family and others—gives it a certain stability and power of resistance against aesthetic innovations. The first reaction to any aesthetic novelty in industry or everyday life is, as a rule, negative. This can be particularly clearly observed in the field of fashion. It would be incorrect to consider this resistance as only a negative factor. Novelties can be different; some proceed from a false originality which itself bears a negative character—choose, do and act “not like everyone else”, “not like is generally accepted”. But established taste is not incidental, it is conditioned by preceding experience which it absorbs and consolidates, and is based on reason. Therefore, it has a rational content which it would be incorrect to ignore. The viability and compliance of various aesthetic innovations to people’s interests, requirements and resources, especially in the sphere of everyday life, are tested with the aid of established taste which evolved over a more or less lengthy period of history, a certain “trial period”, so to say. These innovations, whether in the field of fashions, style of intercourse and behaviour, or decorative principles, must either gradually gain recognition or reveal their uselessness. During this period taste especially clearly reveals its evaluative essence in defending established aesthetic norms and protecting them from destruction and replacement. However, the “defensive” function of taste, if absolutised as its only function, becomes conservative in nature and impedes introduction of new aesthetic values arising during the process of the renewal and development of social life and the advent of new classes and social groups on the historical scene in the course of the development of production, technology, science and art.

p A change in aesthetic taste is inevitable, during the process of which its “investigating”, creative function is more and more positively uncovered. A man “with taste"—that is with developed taste or, more accurately, with taste capable of being developed—earlier than others can evaluate positively all that is 242 new and, based on tradition, reflects the deep-rooted trends of his time. Such a person selects the most promising of the new aesthetic values, those which have prospects of becoming stable. Good taste lies not in the unconscious, thoughtless, flatly imitative character of aesthetic activity but rather in the critical assimilation of new aesthetic achievements and in using them to attain certain goals and to solve the problems placed by life itself.

p Aesthetic taste plays a particularly important role in the artisticactivity of people. Art as a product of artistic activity is not the only manifestation of man’s aesthetic perception or aesthetic transformation of the world. However, art occupies a special place in the system of the aesthetic assimilation of reality. Art, being an artistic figurative form of reflecting objective reality, is capable of concretely and sensuously expressing the unity and mutual penetration of the content and form of the objects, phenomena of the world surrounding us and above all those of human life. Through art the aesthetic aspects of reality and of all forms of human activity receive their most adequate reflection. Man’s aesthetic feelings find their concentrated expression in works of art. Aesthetic evaluations receive their most precise and comprehensive expression in artistic creativity in a system of evaluations of the phenomena of the real world and social life, evaluations which exist in art as well as in other forms of social consciousness. Being one of the forms of human activity, art embodies in its works the ability for creating according to the laws of beauty both in emotional content as well as in the concretely material appearance of the artistic values being created. In other words, the artistic element permeates the entire work of art. Therefore, the satisfying of the aesthetic needs of society in all their diversity is one of the essential purposes of artistic creativity.

p The features of aesthetic taste applied to art are linked with a growth in the role of the rational, analytical principle in the judgement of taste. An aesthetic evaluation of a work of art is impossible on a purely emotional, sensuous level. It demands an analysis of content and form and a correlating of the work to life and to the social aims of artistic creativity. The common formula of taste—”1 like it—I don’t like it“—doesn’t work in relation to works of art as any sort of satisfactory characterisation of their aesthetic value. Here the matter lies in the complex structure of art’s aesthetic value of which I spoke earlier. In evaluating whether or not the various elements of form in a work of art or in the performance of a performer (in the performing arts) correspond to their intention and execution, there can be contradictory judgements of one and the same work. In other words, one and the 243 same work can arouse contradictory aesthetic judgements concerning its various aspects. A person with a developed taste is capable of separating various components in his perception of a work. The level of accuracy of the perception depends upon the level of aesthetic competency of the person expressing the evaluation.

p Notwithstanding all the importance of the analytical cognitive approach to art, the significance of the synthetic approach of aesthetic taste in perceiving a work of art must, nevertheless, not be minimised. For taste, in a irfanner of speaking, concentrates preceding artistic experience which allows one to penetrate into the essence of a work comparatively quickly and accurately and to receive the most complete aesthetic satisfaction from it. Taste also appears here as a measure of aesthetic joy* (I am speaking, of course, of developed and good aesthetic taste).

p Researchers of artistic taste point out its various levels. Taste is developed from evaluation of individual works of art to a comprehension of the value of its individual genres and forms. By the faithfulness and depth of these evaluations we can judge the individual’s level of artistic development. It is taste that determines the trend of the individual’s artistic interests.

p The aesthetic sense of the artist himself plays a most important role in the fight for new, progressive tastes. Any bad taste or incorrect understanding of the state and level of the public’s aesthetic tastes that might appear in a work of art can have a negative effect on aesthetic education. In addition, with the development of mass media—cinema, radio, television—aesthetic tastes not only can be formed but also harmed and ruined on a vast scale.

p Correct and purposeful formation of aesthetic taste is impossible without the transformation of the world according to the laws of beauty, without intellectual and cultural development of the individual, which covers the sphere of his world outlook, psychology, emotional make-up, and practical activity.

The formation of aesthetic taste, and above all the aesthetic taste of the growing generation, is determined by conditions existing in a socialist society, by its many aspects of life—labour, social principles, communist moral attitudes, everyday life, and culture. Aesthetic taste is developed in conformity with the entire way of life of socialist society and is a component part of that society, and influences its further development.