The word "æsthetic," which originally meant perception by the senses, has had its meaning particularised so that it usually is associated with perception of a specific kind. In this sense it is applied to the appreciative attitude of the discerning mind towards the beautiful in art and in nature.<br><br>Philosophy has spent not a little time and trouble on the attempt to formulate and define the essential nature of the beautiful; but what one regards as beautiful, another will either lack interest in or even positively dislike, and such attempts, therefore, have not been particularly successful.<br><br>This conflict of tastes is particularly noticeable in the case of the Art of Music.