Sophistication

Sophistication is the quality of refinement — displaying good taste, wisdom and subtlety rather than crudeness, stupidity and vulgarity. In the perception of social class, sophistication can link with concepts such as status, privilege and superiority.

Scope of sophistication

In social terms, sophistication can be seen as "a form of snobbery".

A study of style conveys an idea of the range of possible elements though which one can demonstrate sophistication in elegance and fashion, covering the art of "[...] the shoemaker, the hairdresser, the cosmetologist, the cookbook writers, the chef, the diamond merchant, the couturieres, and the fashion queens, the inventors of the folding umbrella ... and of champagne."

History

In Ancient Greece, sophia was the special insight of poets and prophets. This then became the wisdom of philosophers such as sophists. But their use of rhetoric to win arguments gave sophistication a derogatory quality.

The system of modern Western sophistication can be traced[weasel words] to France and to the policies of King Louis XIV (reigned 1643–1715).

The English regarded sophistication as decadent and deceptive until the aristocratic sensibilities and refined elegance of Regency dandies such as Beau Brummell (1778–1840) became fashionable and admired.

Types of sophistication

Recognised varieties of sophistication include:

• cultural sophistication
• intellectual sophistication

In the analysis of humor, Victor Raskin distinguishes "two types of sophistication: limited access, or allusive knowledge, and complex processing".

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Sophistication ]

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