Why Do We Like What We Like

Why do we like what we like? Why do we dislike what we dislike? From a commonsense perspective, taste is a purely subjective, private matter. This perspective is challenged by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930 2002), one of the most influential thinkers of recent times, whose work on the sociology of taste informs this chapter and the next. In his most famous work. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, which is based on the analysis of a survey of 1,217 respondents, Bourdieu (1984[1979]) argues that our expressions of taste are in great part determined by our social origin, accounted for by our class background- He disputes the widespread belief in the ideology of ‘natural taste’ which holds that some people, namely those who are ‘cultured’, are in a better position to engage with art and other ‘highbrow’ cultural activities simply because they ‘get it’ (in contrast to others who don’t ‘get it’) as a result of an innate ability (or lack of) to connect with the cultural object in question. Bourdieu’s view would mean that the disinterested contemplation of art espoused by Kant (2005[1790]) is only open to those who have acquired the requisite cultural competences in the course of their lives. Furthermore, Bourdieu argues that expressions of taste are expressions of social power or powerlessness and that social inequalities are reinforced and perpetuated on the basis of cultural distinction.