Cool (aesthetic)
Cool is an aesthetic of attitude, behavior,
comportment, appearance, style and Zeit-
geist. Because of the varied and changing
connotations of cool, as well its subjective
nature, the word has no single meaning. It
has associations of composure and self-con-
trol (cf. the OED definition) and often is used
as an expression of admiration or approval.
Overview
A timeline of cool, adapted from Dick Poun-
tain and David Robins, Cool Rules: Anatomy
of an Attitude
There is no single concept of cool. One of the
essential characteristics of cool is its mutabil-
ity—what is considered cool changes over
time and varies among cultures and genera-
tions.[1]
Nick Southgate writes that, although some
notions of cool can be traced back to Aris-
totle, whose notion of cool is to be found in
his ethical writings, most particularly the
Nicomachean Ethics,[2] it is not confined to
one particular ethnic group or gender.
The sum and substance of cool is a self-
conscious aplomb in overall behavior, which
entails a set of specific behavioral character-
istics that is firmly anchored in symbology, a
set of discernible bodily movements, pos-
tures, facial expressions and voice modula-
tions that are acquired and take on strategic
social value within the peer context.[3]
Cool was once an attitude fostered by
rebels and underdogs, such as slaves, prison-
ers, bikers and political dissents, etc., for
whom open rebellion invited punishment, so
it hid its defiance behind a wall of ironic de-
tachment, distancing itself from the source of
authority rather than directly confronting it.
Cool is also an attitude widely adopted by
artists and intellectuals, who thereby aided
its infiltration into popular culture. Sought by
product marketing firms, idealized by teen-
agers, a shield against racial oppression or
political persecution and source of constant
cultural innovation, cool has become a global
phenomenon that has spread to every corner
of the earth.[2] According to Dick Pountain
and David Robins, concepts of cool have exis-