Abstract:

Centering on "sense of beauty," the inner sense theory developed by Shaftesbury and Hutcheson is highly significant to eighteenth-century British aesthetics. However, due to linguistic and cultural differences, these two concepts have not been well received by the Chinese intelligentsia. By focusing on "sense of beauty," this paper aims to delineate the concept's development in eighteenth-century British aesthetics and evaluate its academic significance in the history of Western aesthetics, with the purpose of supporting the theoretical construction of contemporary Chinese aesthetics.

Key words: sense of beauty, inner sense, eighteenth century, British aesthetics, Western aesthetics