Beauty is a very subjective subject and can be defined as the combination of qualities that pleases our aesthetic senses, especially sight. It can be shaped by culture, gender, age, race, weight, shape of body, and what is considered to be trendy. In the past, beauty was often portrayed as white and thin, however, times are changing and it is becoming more accepted that anyone can be beautiful. Beauty is a subject that has been a major debate in philosophical literature and there are many different ideas on what it is. Some believe that it is a purely physical trait, while others believe that it has a deeper meaning such as character or soul.
According to philosophers, beauty is subjective but it can also be based on cultural norms and social expectations. For example, a person with dark skin may be considered ugly by some, but others will consider them to have beautiful eyes. This is due to cultural norms and expectations that are imposed on people. Many people strive to meet these expectations and end up not being happy with themselves, because they don’t see the true beauty within them. Ashley Pennewill of A Clean Mind Coaching & Counseling says that when you have an unbalanced mindset, it will reflect in your outer appearance and can even lead to negative emotions like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
The debate on whether beauty is objective or subjective is one of the most well-prosecuted disagreements in philosophical literature. Aristotle takes a classical view of beauty, which is that it is the instantiation of definite proportions or relations between parts, sometimes expressed in mathematical ratios, such as the golden section. The statue known as the Canon by Polykleitos, which embodied this principle, was used as a standard for teaching students and masters how to construct good works of art.
Other philosophers, such as Hume and Kant, take a less definite line and hold that beauty is a kind of pleasure. But this merely elevates beauty to the status of anything that amuses or entertains. It does not make it something of high value, comparable to truth or justice.
Moreover, there are ways to experience the beauty of an object or person that do not involve pleasure. For instance, some people are color-blind and cannot perceive certain colors while others, such as those suffering from jaundice, will find that the same objects have a yellow cast. Similarly, an object may have different colors to someone who is blind, and to a person who is deaf or partially sighted.
The idea that beauty is a mixture of multiple factors leads to a variety of definitions of what is beautiful, such as the “seven pillars of elegance” from the Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani. This is also reflected in the work of many artists who explore the concept of beauty. For example, Georgia O’Keeffe aimed to challenge the objectifying gaze of women and Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party placed female bodies around tables.