When it comes to beauty, most people think of fashion, cosmetics, or art. And when it comes to the beauty in life, they may think of things like a healthy lifestyle or a good marriage.
But there is much more to beauty than meets the eye. Beauty is a concept that spans the entire range of human experience and activity, from the simplest pleasure to the most profound spiritual connection. And it is one of the central pillars that support the whole structure of life.
Many philosophers have attempted to define beauty, and most have based their definitions on harmony, proportion, and other aesthetic concepts. For example, Aristotle defined beauty in terms of a particular arrangement of integral parts into a coherent whole according to proportion, balance, and symmetry. This classical conception of beauty persists in classical and neo-classical architecture, sculpture, literature, and music even today.
Aristotle’s ideas were Christianized by Thomas Aquinas, and he connected beauty to the Second Person of the Trinity. He said that beauty was the perfect harmony of a whole in its various parts, and that a work of art must have integrity to be beautiful. It must also fit into the needs of the wider systems that it serves, and it must be able to give pleasure to those who experience it.
Those who are attracted to beauty have to be able to perceive it, and they must be able to give reasoned responses to its presence. But the eighteenth century philosophers Hume and Kant were aware that a serious problem emerges when beauty is treated as a subjective state, since controversies can arise over whether a particular work of art or literature is beautiful or not. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that different people have very different tastes, which can make it difficult for them to agree on what beauty is.
For all these reasons, beauty was dropped as a dominant goal of the arts for most of the twentieth century. The art world was more interested in pursuing other goals, and the political associations of beauty with power tended to discredit it as well.
In spite of this, there are still those who believe that beauty is a worthwhile pursuit, and it is hard to argue with their arguments. Beauty is important to the health of individuals and societies, and it is an indispensable part of a fully functional life. But, as with other values, we must be careful not to let our desire for beauty overshadow its proper place in a meaningful life.
Achieving true beauty requires a high level of personal maturity. It requires being comfortable in your own skin, having confidence in your abilities, and appreciating the beauty of those around you. And it is important to remember that there is beauty in a lot of simple things, such as an old-fashioned bicycle or the smile on a child’s face. Ultimately, the most beautiful thing of all is the beauty in yourself.