The idea of beauty is an important one for every design project. It is the idea of harmony and proportion. The arrangement of leaves on a plant’s stem is a beautiful numerical pattern. The proportion of human limbs and the measurements of a building are also beautiful. Using these ideas, the idea of beauty can be understood in the context of the world.
According to Santayana, beauty can be an experience that makes life meaningful. When it is associated with pleasure, beauty is a subjective response. However, it can be measured by scientific instruments. Therefore, we might debate about whether an object is beautiful or not. This argument can lead to hostility and disagreement. To understand the connection between aesthetic perception and the concept of beauty, we should consider how each one of us experience beauty.
Throughout history, the concept of beauty has been accompanied by problematic political associations. This is particularly true when it comes to gender, race, and other aspects. The early twentieth-century philosophical debates did not address these aspects of beauty. However, the social justice movement of the late twentieth-century addressed these issues. These are some important issues to consider when studying the concept of beauty.
Until the eighteenth century, most philosophical accounts of beauty considered beauty as an objective quality of an object. It was often associated with a specific object, such as a flower. Then, there were the philosophic views that sought to explain beauty through the use of subjective reasoning. For example, Augustine argued that something is beautiful because it gives pleasure. He also argued that beauty is a subjective experience, as well as a quality that cannot be measured or calculated.
Ultimately, the idea of beauty has become more relevant than ever. It is crucial to design, particularly in our contemporary time, with the global climate crisis and the political unrest. Many designers are now avoiding working with beauty, but there is every reason to return to it. A recent study by MORI reveals that the public still values aesthetics.
In the twentieth century, many thinkers struggled with the notion of beauty. They became suspicious of its pacifying power. They were confused about how to reconcile beauty with a world that includes wars, wastelands, and genocide. The emergence of capitalism further entangled beauty. The bourgeoisie and the elite’s use of beauty became associated with capitalism. In some cases, great art was devoted to furnishing the homes of the wealthy. In these cases, beauty could mask the real suffering of those who owned it.
Aristotle and Plato disagreed about what constitutes beauty. The classical conception of beauty treats beauty as a matter of proportions and relationships between parts. This definition was often expressed in mathematical ratios. It was also important for moral virtue. For example, Plato claimed that the virtuous souls were symmetrical.