--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is the imposing of a pattern on…" description: "\"Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.\" — Alfred North Whitehead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png" --- # Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our… ![“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png) > “Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We find pleasure when we detect an underlying order in our perceptions, turning chaotic experience into recognizable structure. **In simple terms:** Pattern recognition creates aesthetic pleasure. Key Takeaway Order in chaos yields beauty. Themes aesthetics cognition pattern recognition philosophy of art perception Mood wonder satisfaction curiosity Type philosophical analytical reflective When to use this quote - visual arts analysis - music composition - design critique - literary interpretation - scientific data visualization Key Concepts order experience recognition aesthetic enjoyment Practical Applications - curating exhibitions - enhancing user interface design Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing patterns influence our emotional response to art? - Can we appreciate art without perceiving an underlying order? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The arts especially address the idea of aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience is one in which your senses are operating at their peak; when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/the-arts-especially-address-the-idea-of-aesthetic-experience-an/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [I think that there is an air of experience and aesthetic sophistication that weaves in with the amateur aspects of the film \[Dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-that-there-is-an-air-of-experience-and-aesthetic/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [For me, it's important to experience aesthetic shock, which sets in motion our imagination, our emotions, our feelings, and our thoughts. That's the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-soulages/for-me-it-s-important-to-experience-aesthetic-shock-which-sets-in/) [Pierre Soulages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-soulages/) > [I have a lot of passion and experience with aesthetic surgery and look forward to helping men and women all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/i-have-a-lot-of-passion-and-experience-with-aesthetic-surgery-and/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) > [The principle objectives in life are love, the creation and enjoyment if aesthetic experience, the pursuit of knowledge. 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Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“The merit of Locke 's 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' is its adequacy, and not its consistency. . . He should have widened the title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-merit-of-locke-s-essay-concerning-human-understanding-is-its/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. 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I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. 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Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aesthetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_aesthetic_art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-expe_79474.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred North Whitehead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is the imposing of a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```