Sophistication

I re-educated myself about the word "philistine" today. I've heard it a lot and I heard it recently, in a conversation in which I was somewhat involved, but felt kind of stupid about not knowing what it meant. Usually I'll have no regrets about admitting I don't know what something means and I'll seek the immediate answer by asking, but something told me not to ask. It sounds like a type of philosophy, way of life, or belief. It's a hard one to remember. Its primary definition refers to people who settled in Palestine (Philistia) in 12th century B.C.
It's also a crushing criticism, especially as defined in Webster's: it contains a slew of adjectives to get to its point --- a crass, prosaic and often priggish individual --- and it hasn't even gotten to the heart of the meaning yet --- I had to look each of those words up first --- who follows material rather than intellectual or artistic pursuits. Ouch. I would have felt horribly unsophisticated if I had to ask at that moment. I might have been taken for someone who was Philistine, or perhaps unrefined, if I'd had to ask. I'm so glad I didn't. Then the definition goes on to say the word "Babbitt" is a synonym, which, of course, I also had to look up.
Philistine is a complicated word. It can be capitalized or not. It might make the speaker who uses the word sound really smart. Sometimes children might tend to want to be philistine so that they won't be branded as weird, out of place, or crazy, and there's so much pressure to not be any of those things if you go to most public elementary schools. All that ridicule for being different can really get to you after awhile when you're young and impressionable. I don't think to be considered philistine is necessarily going to be a criticism, in other words; though from reading the word it sounds like it is.
There are two sides to the definition --- of course it's a criticism with the adjectives crass, prosaic and priggish in there; but to isolate the part about it referring to an individual who pursues material rather than intellectual or artistic pursuits is a separate part of that definition. Is there a word for someone who's not crass, prosaic and priggish, and instead only someone who prefers materialistic rather than artistic or intellectual pursuits? Or are they inextricably intertwined? Is there a word for an athletic, cheerful, and relaxed individual, who prefers materialistic rather than artistic or intellectual pursuits? My question is why the latter part of the definition has to be paired with obvious insults. It sounds like a way for artistic and intellectual people to look down on the non-artistic, non-intellectual people. There's always some way to divide each other, label each other, and judge each other. I would hope that those with "intellectual" and "artistic" tendencies would be the least likely to judge other people for what they are or what they are not, for I would think that many people who are artistic and/or intellectual would be some of the most open-minded and non-judgmental people, for lots of reasons.
So much of society, from an early age when two-year-olds fight over toys, to purchasing BMWs, swimming pools and houses in the Hamptons, is all about "stuff," and being materialistic, and that is unfortunate, but I try not to look down on anyone for being materialistic. As if to say I'm not materialistic in the least. I can't make up my mind whether I like the word. I sure am glad that I learned five new words today. Obviously, it gives me a lot to think about, along with some other stuff. I'm not sure if I'll use them out loud.