On Beauty and Value
This is a topic for which I do have not figured out much, but something which I have considered often.
How can one define beauty? Can beauty even be defined? Should one even try to define beauty? Is beauty really different for different people? Can something have inherent beauty?
I am one who prefers that everything can be defined, but some things in life it seems, escape definement.
But here is my current state of observation. I am sure my thoughts on this will be refined further over time.
Some have stated that beauty is order and perfection. I disagree. I see an effect that order and perfection has on beauty, but in studies, it has been shown that people find things or other people more appealing aesthetically if there is a minor "imperfection". A circle is a perfectly round shape, yet I hardly think a circle is beautiful. But an artist might be able to take a circle, and when combined with other elements, make the circle beautiful within a work of art.
So perhaps setting, too, affects beauty....
I am reading a book now in which the author describes beauty as a feeling of "something that was, all at once, pain and longing and adoring." I think that this is a grand description of what beauty causes one to feel, but it does not quite answer what beauty is beyond saying, "Beauty is something that causes this feeling." I suppose that might be as satisfactory a definition as I shall ever see, but I am not entirely satisfied. But when combined with a talk a had yesterday on the phone with J. (lj user="mallon04008"), my close friend from grade school, I think it may have greater meaning. J. is interested in law and economic-types of stuff and such, things low on my list of interests -- but he is very bright. (Outside our fields though, we share a million interests.) One day while running, he described thinking of value and the definition of value. It struck him simply that something has value only if that thing is desired, if someone would give something for it. This is simple yet profound. It implies that things do not have inherent value separate from someone longing for them. This fits well with an age-old economic principle. The cost of something depends greatly on what people are willing to pay for it, and that shows the thing's worth.
Now if beauty is that which causes a feeling of longing and adoration, I wonder if that does imply that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I still think there is more to it than this. Could it be that there are certain things -- things that are inherently beautiful -- than anyone in his or her right mind would or should long for and adore? I think the answer is yes.Edit (01.02.06): added J.'s user name
How can one define beauty? Can beauty even be defined? Should one even try to define beauty? Is beauty really different for different people? Can something have inherent beauty?
I am one who prefers that everything can be defined, but some things in life it seems, escape definement.
But here is my current state of observation. I am sure my thoughts on this will be refined further over time.
Some have stated that beauty is order and perfection. I disagree. I see an effect that order and perfection has on beauty, but in studies, it has been shown that people find things or other people more appealing aesthetically if there is a minor "imperfection". A circle is a perfectly round shape, yet I hardly think a circle is beautiful. But an artist might be able to take a circle, and when combined with other elements, make the circle beautiful within a work of art.
So perhaps setting, too, affects beauty....
I am reading a book now in which the author describes beauty as a feeling of "something that was, all at once, pain and longing and adoring." I think that this is a grand description of what beauty causes one to feel, but it does not quite answer what beauty is beyond saying, "Beauty is something that causes this feeling." I suppose that might be as satisfactory a definition as I shall ever see, but I am not entirely satisfied. But when combined with a talk a had yesterday on the phone with J. (lj user="mallon04008"), my close friend from grade school, I think it may have greater meaning. J. is interested in law and economic-types of stuff and such, things low on my list of interests -- but he is very bright. (Outside our fields though, we share a million interests.) One day while running, he described thinking of value and the definition of value. It struck him simply that something has value only if that thing is desired, if someone would give something for it. This is simple yet profound. It implies that things do not have inherent value separate from someone longing for them. This fits well with an age-old economic principle. The cost of something depends greatly on what people are willing to pay for it, and that shows the thing's worth.
Now if beauty is that which causes a feeling of longing and adoration, I wonder if that does imply that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I still think there is more to it than this. Could it be that there are certain things -- things that are inherently beautiful -- than anyone in his or her right mind would or should long for and adore? I think the answer is yes.Edit (01.02.06): added J.'s user name