Throughout the ages beauty has triggered passionate debates and intense thoughts. It has been a topic of great interest to philosophers, writers, scientists, artists, and even politicians. A lot of research has been dedicated to the subject and a huge number of books have been written on the topic. Beauty has also been a very controversial issue in many cultures and countries, especially during periods of social upheaval.
Beauty is a complex concept because it has both objective and subjective dimensions. It is generally acknowledged that the pleasure a person gets from experiencing beauty is a personal experience, hence the famous saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” At the same time, it has been argued that a certain ability on the part of the observer is necessary for judging whether something is beautiful. This is sometimes referred to as the sense of taste. It is widely believed that this sense of taste can be trained, so that the verdicts of experts tend to coincide in the long run.
Various philosophical perspectives have developed over the centuries regarding beauty’s nature and its relation to the human mind and spirit. In the ancient world, the experience of beauty was often described in ecstatic terms. It was described as a state of being that brought a person to tears. In the eighteenth century, philosophers such as Hume and Kant argued that beauty is more than just a subjective experience. They argued that if the phenomenon were entirely subjective, it would cease to be of any value at all, since people will not agree on what is beautiful.
One of the most fundamental Western ideas about beauty was formulated by Plato (427-347 BCE) and later endorsed by Aristotle (384-322 BCE). According to this idea, a thing can be judged as beautiful by its arrangement of integral parts into a coherent whole. This whole must be characterized by integrity or perfection, harmony or proportion, and symmetry or constancy. This is a primordial conception of beauty and it was embodied in classical and neo-classical architecture, sculpture, literature, music, and other art works.
A number of other ideas about beauty have also been advanced, including the concept that beauty can be defined by its relationship to utility. This view is based on the idea that beautiful things are those that are fit for their intended purpose. For example, a work of art is beautiful if it has the right colors to convey emotions, or if it is brightly coloured to attract the attention of passersby. Other ways of defining beauty include a sense of awe, or a feeling of wonder. This concept of beauty has been criticized for its link with power and oppression. It has also been associated with the hedonist lifestyles of the wealthy, as exemplified by the Rococo paintings of Fragonard. These associations have made beauty a target for social criticism and political activism. At the same time, beauty has been regarded as an impulse that can be as liberating as it is enslaving.