What is a word for someone who denies themselves the pleasures of variety and selects high quality from a narrow range of the good things in life?
For instance, someone who likes only Renaissance art, early music, Italian cuisine, Swedish Modern design, country village holidays...
And not other varieties of art, music, food, design, holiday...
But not from ignorance. Nor connoisseurship. Perhaps (I don't know) from a desire for simplification, and it is a distinguishing personality trait.
and found it colourless, might have been to a country village and preferred an urban adventure. People like what they like and sometimes are fine with that. It sounds like you might be in the company of a friend and you desperately want the friend to expand his or her boundaries and enjoy the rich experiences that you enjoy. And the friend is Just. Not. Into. It. I could speculate further, but I'm sure you get the idea. There's no word for the person who is limiting themselves to a narrow range, but there is a word for the person who wants the other person to branch out: frustrated.denies themselves
If someone is perfectly happy with their choices they are not denying themselves.the pleasures of variety
Variety is pleasurable to those who like variety. To those who prefer the familiar, the understandable, and the recognizable then variety is a burden and not a pleasure. Human brains are not all the same. Your pleasure might be their discomfort.the good things in life
And this narrowly selecting human might have tasted sushi and found it wanting, might have seen Michelangelo's David
Amusingly enough, the Greek sculptors he thought he was emulating might have been among them.might have seen Michelangelo's David and found it colourless
I don't know this word. If you find it, please reply to this comment and let me know. I'm now interested in finding out.
Aesthete is absolutely the word you're looking for, in my opinion. Shoutout to bhrgunatha. EDIT: I am this. I have highly-developed opinions about (almost) everything that matters (to me). This allows me to profess dedication or admiration to subcategories instead of whole subjects. I like Impressionism, not Art. Etc. The point isn't that I only like one kind of art, it's that I have a definite and refined preference for or against every kind of art. I think everyone should aim for this mode of thought, because it goes hand in hand with knowledge and experience.
I'm not sure there is a word with that exact meaning. ascetic If not connoisseur, how do you feel about aesthete? someone who denies themselves the pleasures of variety
selects high quality from a narrow range of the good things in life
The blithe self-denial is as prominent in this personality as the selective quality-seeking. It is most understandable for someone to have a great appreciation for hard bop, but it's not easy to see the benefit of rejecting all other music, not with disdain - just indifference. When the same attitude is there towards one after another of the kinds of things that make life enjoyable, that's a personality type. I don't think English has a word close in meaning to this peculiarity of character. What would be a summary delineation of it in a few words?
The adjective "refined" would work. But noun-wise "epicure" is probably best; still mostly has connotations similar to "gourmand" or "connoisseur", though.
One word? So far, I can come up "narrow-minded". At least I can picture myself telling that person,"Hey man, don't be so narrow-minded. Willie Nelson has such an ability to express complex ideas through simple stories. You may find his stuff will resonate with you..."