DE GUSTIBUS EST DISPUTANDUM
DE GUSTIBUS EST DISPUTANDUM

Summary/Abstract: The essay addresses the maxim De gustibus non est disputandum, which claimed to resolve every aesthetic dispute by eliminating them with the use of something that did not attempt to explain anything. In claiming that there is nothing to discuss in matters of taste, one is speaking of oneself – one’s taste reveals and represents oneself – and not about nature, existence and the modalities of the work. These are beyond “liking” and “not liking”, beyond “pleasing”, beyond undebatable taste, in which there is neither reflection nor a coherent attitude to the work, and as such remain a relevant judgment only for the person who holds them. One can and should discuss matters of values. They themselves – particularly as the open values of an open work – demand it of us.

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