The word “aesthetics” comes from the Ancient Greek word aisthētikós, which means “of sense perception.” Depending on the discipline, aesthetics refers to a wide variety of studies: the understanding of how the brain perceives senses and sensory emotion; a critical study of art and nature; art theory; literary theory; etc. Philosophical studies of aesthetics seek to answer broad questions about the principles of art and beauty: What makes something beautiful? What makes art good? How do people make judgements of art? What determines the meaning and value of art—the artist or the viewer?

Prior to Burke’s exploration of aesthetics, most philosophers adhered to a Platonic understanding of art. Plato asserted that the arts existed to translate higher truths. The physical world was merely a shadow of a more profound truth that could be found within “Ideas” and “Forms.” These ideas persisted until the arrival of the 18th century, when rationalism was applied to all disciplines, including perceptions of art and beauty. The ushering in of the Enlightenment brought a decreased emphasis on goodness and truth, the ideas that had dominated the critique of art for centuries. Suddenly, thinkers were far more interested in that which could be quantified, and Burke’s development of beauty through this lens reflects this cultural shift.