Abstract: What do cherry blossoms in full bloom, a starry night sky, live orchestral music, a well-crafted novel, and the architecture of an ancient cathedral all have in common? They are just a few of the many beautiful things in the world that are worth aesthetic appreciation. But what exactly is “aesthetic appreciation”? I argue that aesthetic appreciation is a complex, conscious, cognitive and affective process that involves directly engaging in an attentive manner with objects that, insofar as one succeeds at appreciating them, one actively likes or loves. This is opposed to the widely held view in philosophical aesthetics that aesthetic appreciation is primarily concerned with forming evaluative judgments.