Defining Beauty
Beauty is often defined as the aesthetic, subjective quality of selected aspects of objects which makes these objects pleasant to see. These objects include sunsets, landscapes, humans and other works of artwork. Beauty, along with personal taste and aesthetics, is the most important theme of aesthetics, among the various branches of modern philosophy. Other philosophers consider beauty to be merely aesthetic, whereas many philosophers who use different definitions of beauty disagree.
Some philosophers define beauty as an aesthetic experience which is independent of the taste of the beholder. For example, when a person views a work of art, the object’s aesthetic experience does not depend on the taste of the beholder; rather, it depends on the ability of the artist to create a beautiful piece of art in the first place. This view is more controversial, and is used by some philosophers who deny that there is such a thing as beauty, arguing that beauty is merely the subjective experience of pleasure which is dependent on the ability of the mind to identify and enjoy beauty.
In contrast, some philosophers argue that beauty depends on the ability of the mind to distinguish between various qualities. For example, the aestheticians (the term is also applied to those who disagree with the aesthetics and beauty debate) disagree with the claim that beauty exists independent of the taste of the beholder. According to this school of thought, beauty is something that can be universally appreciated and found in all human activities including the production of art. Another school of thought, the subjective schools, believe that beauty is a personal experience which depends on the individual’s interpretation of beauty.
According to some philosophers, the definition of beauty depends on what the essential characteristic of beauty is. The essential characteristic of beauty is unity, and the concept of beauty consists in the fact that there is a harmony or agreement between the parts of an object. In order for something to be considered as a whole, it must be composed of parts that perfectly complement each other. It is for this reason that the term ‘completeness’ is used in order to define beauty.
Aesthetics cannot be separated from philosophy, and both are part of the beauty-thinking process. Philosophy helps to explain what we see through our eyes, and it provides us with a framework or frame of reference from which to make judgments about beauty. According to some philosophers, all knowledge is fallible, and the only way to truly know anything is to be subjected to both the aesthetic and non-aesthetic senses. The basis for this is that knowledge and understanding are always derivative, arising from experiences and perceptions that arise from the knowledge and understanding of things. This allows for both knowledge and understanding to be fallible.
In this article, we have looked at some of the basic characteristics associated with the term beauty. Specifically, we have discussed the crux of beauty in terms of facial features, the aspects of a face that can be physically attractive, and how these facial features relate to one’s reproductive potential. We have also looked at how facial attractiveness relates to one’s reproductive potential and looked at how people judge beauty through their facial features. Finally, we looked at how the aesthetic standards of beauty differ between societies.