Beauty is a hard concept to pin down. It’s subjective because the quality that defines it varies depending on the individual and the circumstances. It’s also intersubjective: different observers will have different judgments of the same object. But it’s also objective because the human sense of beauty can be trained and a group’s verdicts can coincide over time.
Some philosophers have tried to give a more precise definition of beauty. Plato (427-347 BCE) argued that beauty is a property of Forms, ideal concepts that are distinct from material objects. This idea of beauty is objective because it does not depend on the experience of the observer. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) and later Christian philosophers, such as Thomas Aquinas, followed this line of thought. They argued that beauty is found in objects that have certain characteristics, such as symmetry, proportion, and balance. This type of beauty can be seen in both natural and art objects, and it connects observers to beautiful works of art.
However, even these ideas have problems. For example, color can be perceived differently by people who are blind or with other kinds of sensory disabilities. For example, a person with jaundice will see the world as having a yellow cast. And a work of art can look different to people who are looking at it during the day or at night.
For this reason, many philosophers have concluded that beauty cannot be fully defined. It’s often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that seems to imply that the sense of beauty is not something that can be taught or learned. Other philosophers have tried to give a more objective account of beauty, but they run into the same problems.
One of these ideas is that beauty can be defined by “harmony between its parts.” It’s often noted that the most beautiful things have a kind of inner logic to them, as in the way that all the elements in a painting come together to create the whole. This can lead to a philosophical debate over whether a piece of art has integrity if it doesn’t follow this interior logic. A realistic portrait of a woman, for example, will lack integrity if it depicts her with three eyes or otherwise violates the rules of realism.
A final note on beauty is that it can have very important social and ethical implications. A lot of research shows that people who live in beautiful places tend to have lower rates of depression and a greater sense of wellbeing. So, it’s worth preserving and celebrating our natural and cultural heritage to make sure we have these benefits. And that’s why it’s so important to support local businesses that celebrate and preserve the beauty of our region. This article originally appeared on The Daily Dot and is republished with permission. Copyright