Beauty is a concept that has been debated for centuries. There have been several major approaches to the idea, each one focusing on a particular aspect of beauty. In this article, we will examine a number of these.
The most common philosophical accounts of beauty treat it as an objective quality of an object, and as a means of pleasing aesthetic senses. The most notable feature of these definitions is that they often involve the symmetrical arrangement of parts into a harmonious whole. This notion of beauty is embodied in many forms of classical and neo-classical art and architecture.
A more subjective approach to beauty has been suggested by some philosophers. Santayana emphasized the pleasure that a beautiful object brings. He also proposed that the experience of such an object could be the meaning of life.
Other accounts of beauty consider it to be a quality of object qualities, such as colour. However, this is not the only way that beauty can be understood. For example, some people do not have the ability to see colours at all. It is also possible to have different perceptions of an object depending on what time of day it is.
Another approach is to conceive of beauty as a principle of perfect unity. Specifically, this involves a connection between the object and the response of the spectator’s intellect. Plotinus suggests that beauty is related to a person’s response to love, longing, and desire.
Kant’s treatment of beauty in terms of disinterested pleasure has obvious elements of hedonism. However, he also erects a new skepticism, which risks falling into relativism.
One of the earliest treatments of beauty, attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, argued that living things need to present order in the arrangement of their parts. While these qualities are not a direct way to determine what is beautiful, they are significant for confirming meaningful claims. These qualities include form, proportion, and clarity.
In the most basic sense, beauty is the combination of qualities that give it meaning. Some of these qualities may be a person’s age, body shape, and weight. Others are popular cultural idioms that relate to beauty.
Another aspect of beauty is its connection with communities of appreciation. This is why ancient treatments of beauty often pay tribute to the pleasures of beauty, as well as the ecstatic experience of such enjoyment. As such, a reconstrual of beauty is a good way to critique the distinction between fine art and craft.
Most ancient treatments of beauty focus on the experience of beauty. This experience connects the viewer to the object, and it may involve a trancelike state. Ancient treatments also frequently describe the ecstatic pleasures of beauty in a neo-Platonic manner, referring to the ‘delight’ of a person who has experienced something.
Finally, there are the most obvious and the most ambiguous aspects of beauty. Some believe that the most important thing about beauty is its ability to provide perceptual experience to the senses.