When does beauty shift into the sublime (terrifying unknown)?

"In societies where precipitous change is not an everyday event - in tribes, villages, theocracies, armies, academies, monasteries, laboratories, and government bureaucracies - pleasant surprises take on a darker aspect.  In these realms, one's eccentric taste is more likely to be construed as a threat to the community, as a symptom of disloyalty, than as an icon of aspiration. "

Hickey, The Invisible Dragon, pg.84

Make it a little bigger and think about individual experiences.
What is the individual's motivation (reason? impetus?) for recognizing beauty?