1714 – 1762
Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762) was a German philosopher who coined the term 'aesthetics' and established it as a distinct philosophical discipline. A student of Christian Wolff, he argued that sensory cognition possesses its own form of perfection and logic, laying the groundwork for modern philosophy of art and beauty.
Coined the term 'aesthetics' and founded it as a philosophical discipline
Published Aesthetica (1750–1758), the first systematic treatise on the philosophy of sensory cognition
Developed the concept of 'sensitive cognition' as a legitimate form of knowledge parallel to logical reasoning
Extended Wolffian rationalism into the domain of art and beauty
Influenced Kant's development of aesthetic theory in the Critique of Judgment