aesthetic or ascetic

People often encounter these two words first in college, and may confuse one with the other although they have almost opposite connotations. “Aesthetic” (also spelled “esthetic”) has to do with beauty, whereas “ascetic” has to do with avoiding pleasure, including presumably the pleasure of looking at beautiful things.St. Francis had an ascetic attitude toward life, whereas Oscar Wilde had an esthetic attitude toward life.

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Definitions

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• n  (philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful
• a  relating to or dealing with the subject of aesthetics
  aesthetic values
• a  concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
  the aesthetic faculties
  an aesthetic person
  aesthetic feeling
  the illustrations made the book an aesthetic success
• s  aesthetically pleasing

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• n  someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
• a  pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline
  ascetic practices
• s  practicing great self-denial
  Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James

News & Articles

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• Beach House bucks modern trends
  Indie rock duo learning to navigate the past, future by John Schacht If you were seeking a poster-band primer on how to navigate the amorphous landscape of today's music industry without losing your aesthetic way, you could do a lot worse than Baltimore's Beach House. The duo of singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand and multi-instrumentalist Alex Scally released its eponymous debut in 2006, and ...
  June 13, 2013 - Creative Loafing Charlotte
• Woodcliff Lake adopts Community Forestry Plan
  In keeping with its efforts to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification, the Woodcliff Lake Borough Council on June 3 adopted a Community Forestry Management Plan that will aid the borough in creating and sustaining a healthy tree resource for the environmental, aesthetic and economic benefit of the town, according to the plan prepared by ForesTree Consultants of Stockton.
  June 13, 2013 - The Record
• Strax Rejuvenation Welcomes Ana J. Varela to its Team of Aesthetic Science Professionals
  SUNRISE, Calif., June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Top plastic surgery and wellness center Strax Rejuvenation welcomes Ana J. Varela , ARNP, MSN to its team of aesthetics sciences professionals. Ana's ...
  June 12, 2013 - PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance

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• Live Music
  June 19 Highbrow hootenany Formerly known as The Ascetic Junkies, married couple Kali Giaritta and Matt Harmon are now going by the moniker There is No Mountain. Although lumped into the Americana category, the couple is far more experimental than your average roots rockers, changing tempos and chord patterns with the abandon of prog rockers. Just listen to “Owl City,” which sounds like ...
  June 13, 2013 - Portland Tribune
• Live Music
  June 19 Highbrow hootenany Formerly known as The Ascetic Junkies, married couple Kali Giaritta and Matt Harmon are now going by the moniker There is No Mountain. Although lumped into the Americana category, the couple is far more experimental than your average roots rockers, changing tempos and chord patterns with the abandon of prog rockers. Just listen to “Owl City,” which sounds like ...
  June 13, 2013 - Portland Tribune