If a woman wants to make her man happy, she should do all she can to make her look beautiful. She should make sure her hair, nails and makeup are well done, and she should wear clothes that show off her best features. She should also go to the gym and eat healthily. These things will help her feel good about herself. But she should remember that true beauty is not based on her appearance. It is based on her actions and the way she treats other people.
The topic of beauty has generated many philosophical discussions and arguments. One of the major disagreements is whether beauty is objective or subjective. The answer to this question depends on the philosophical tradition that is being examined. For example, Plato held a concept of beauty that is subjective in the sense that it is a feature of his world of Forms, while Aristotle held a concept of beauty that is objective in the sense that it depends on characteristics of the object being observed.
For Aristotle, the definition of beauty is based on harmony between the parts of an artifact, whether it be natural or man-made. He argued that the parts must be proportional to each other and must work together to create an integrated whole. This view of beauty was known as the “classical conception.”
Another approach to beauty focuses on functionality. The philosopher Denis Dutton argues that beauty is a result of evolution and has been hardwired into our brains for survival purposes. He argues that when we see an appealing sight, it triggers a response in our brain that leads to the instinct to protect ourselves from harm.
A third approach to beauty is based on the pleasures that the object of beauty gives its observer. This view was exemplified by David Hume, who argued that beauty is a matter of subjective pleasure. He said that great works of art and objects of nature give their observers pleasure, but it is not the kind of pleasure that could be ranked with the pleasures of truth and morality.
Several modern philosophers have taken up the challenge of defining beauty. Peg Zeglin Brand argues that the notion of beauty is in need of rehabilitation as an impulse that can be as liberating as it has been deemed enslaving. She believes that young female artists who toy with feminine stereotypes, and men who dress in revealing clothing, are showing that beauty can be used to destabilize the rigid conventions of a culture, rather than to reinforce them. However, she also points out that the notion of beauty has been abused by the advertising industry and by certain cultural norms that are not in line with human values. She suggests that we should focus on the experience of beauty and the joy it gives us, rather than trying to define a strict set of rules for what constitutes beauty.