ARMAGEDDON POP

What is an aesthetic experience? What sets an aesthetic experience apart from ordinary life experiences? Is an aesthetic experience subjective or intersubjective? Is it accessible to everyone? Is it possible to communicate an aesthetic experience to others, i.e. is it "intersubjectively communicable"? Does an aesthetic experience require knowledge of art, or can anyone experience it? What is the relationship between aesthetic experience and meditation, concentration, or contemplation?

Is an aesthetic experience dependent on the existence of an aesthetic object, i.e. a work of art, or is it independent of such an object? Is it possible to have an aesthetic experience without the existence of a subject? Is it possible to experience aesthetic experience as a stream of consciousness, or is it necessary to have a creator and a recipient, a self-aware subject (aesthetic reason) experiencing art? Is it possible to have a false aesthetic experience?

Is aesthetic experience the subject of aesthetics or psychology? What kind of psychological phenomenon is an aesthetic experience? Is it possible to create or conceive of art under the influence of an aesthetic experience? Is imagination necessary within an aesthetic experience? Does an aesthetic experience resemble any other psychological process that only differs in terms of the object (work of art)?

Is an aesthetic experience lasting or fleeting? Is an aesthetic experience intellectual or emotional in character? Does an aesthetic experience cause a transformation in an individual's life, or does it change their state of mind? Does an aesthetic experience require thinking, or is it an unconscious experience? These are some of the questions that may arise during a reflection on the issue of aesthetic experience.

Let's start by introducing the concept of "aesthetic experience". What is an aesthetic experience? Well, it is a special kind of intellectual-sensory-emotional experience that occurs during intentional interaction with an aesthetic object, also known as a work of art. An aesthetic experience is not an ordinary everyday experience, as engaging with art is always a unique experience that requires the recipient to think and emotionally engage. Perceiving a work of art constitutes an extraordinary experience for the cognitive subject, which we can also call an aesthetic mind, enriching not only his or her inner world but also altering their perception of reality.

Aesthetic experience does not have a univocal character, whether subjective or intersubjective, as it can be both a subjective experience of the phenomenon (such as looking at paintings in an exhibition) and an intersubjective one (such as collective experiences, like attending a music concert). However, an aesthetic experience can initially be an individual experience, as it concerns direct perception or contact with a work of art, but it can also have a social or cultural character (members of a society or culture can be recipients of the same aesthetic objects, such as Van Gogh's paintings, J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, or J.S. Bach's music). Therefore, the issue of the subjectivity/ intersubjectivity of aesthetic experience can be a matter of debate.

Aesthetic experience is potentially accessible to all rational human beings, although, as we know, not everyone perceives a work of art in the same way, as people differ in their level of culture, knowledge, life and aesthetic experiences. Our experiences of aesthetic experiences are potentially possible to convey to other subjects who may understand our experiences by analogy, as each recipient of art has the ability to understand other individuals and their experiences (empathy). Knowledge of art is not necessary for experiencing aesthetic experience, but it certainly does not hinder understanding and deeper experiencing of art.

Contemplation, concentration, or meditation are also important for experiencing aesthetic experience, as this experience is a psychological state similar to the categories of aesthetic reason.

Aesthetic experience, at least in an idealistic sense, does not require the existence of an aesthetic object because theoretically, a "pure" aesthetic experience is possible, devoid of a physically existing object, but it does require the existence of ideas that the aesthetic mind experiences. However, an aesthetic experience devoid of a perceiving subject seems irrational unless we consider the autonomy of aesthetic experience, which exists as a stream of consciousness. Nevertheless, I think the concept of a stream of consciousness (or a stream of aesthetic experiences) is quite unreasonable because we lose a reference point for experiences, acts, and consciousness content. Aesthetic experience as such cannot be false or true, but its content can be because it can exist either realistically or not, as in the case of the mind's relation to reality in any psychological state.

Aesthetic experience exists at the intersection of aesthetics and psychology, with the difference that psychology is concerned with the act or process of experiencing aesthetic, while aesthetics is concerned with its object, namely the artwork and its significance for the subject. Aesthetic experience is an emotional and mental phenomenon because it engages our emotional and cognitive spheres in the process of experiencing the artwork.

Aesthetic experience can inspire artistic creation or theoretical concepts of art. In my opinion, aesthetic experience is related to the imagination and is generated by it, so that the subject has the ability to experience aesthetic sensations when in contact with the artwork. Aesthetic experience is a unique psychological phenomenon that differs not only in its object but also in the content that arises in the conceptualization process of the artwork. Aesthetic experience has both fleeting and lasting characteristics because like any psychological experience, it lasts for a certain period of time, but on the other hand, its impact can be lasting and can forever change an individual's state of consciousness. Aesthetic experience, even if it possesses some unconscious traits, still requires mental activity, not only on the part of the artist but also on the part of the recipient of the artwork.

Marek Wojnicki