Beauty
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a [[salience (neuroscience)|salient]] experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own [[being|existence]]. An "[[object (philosophy)|object]] of beauty" is anything that reveals or resonates with personal meaning. Hence [[religion|religious]] and moral teachings often focus on the [[divinity]] and [[virtue]] of beauty, and to assert natural beauty as an aspect of a [[spirituality]] and [[truth]]. | In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a [[salience (neuroscience)|salient]] experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own [[being|existence]]. An "[[object (philosophy)|object]] of beauty" is anything that reveals or resonates with personal meaning. Hence [[religion|religious]] and moral teachings often focus on the [[divinity]] and [[virtue]] of beauty, and to assert natural beauty as an aspect of a [[spirituality]] and [[truth]]. | ||
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| + | == History of beauty == | ||
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| + | [[Image:Taj Mahal black and white illustration.svg|200px|right|thumb|The [[Taj Mahal]] is an example of symmetry in [[architecture]].]] | ||
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| + | There is evidence that a preference for beautiful faces emerges early in child development, and that the standards of attractiveness are similar across different genders and cultures. [[Symmetry (physical attractiveness)|Symmetry]] is also important because it suggests the absence of genetic or acquired defects. Although style and fashion vary widely, cross-cultural research has found a variety of commonalities in people's perception of beauty. The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, such as [[Pythagoras]]. The Pythagorean school saw a strong connection between [[mathematics]] and beauty. In particular, they noted that objects proportioned according to the [[golden ratio]] seemed more attractive. Ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] architecture is based on this view of symmetry and proportion. | ||
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| + | Classical philosophy and sculptures of men and women produced according to these philosophers' tenets of ideal human beauty were rediscovered in [[Renaissance]] Europe, leading to a re-adoption of what became known as a "classical ideal". In terms of female human beauty, a woman whose appearance conforms to these tenets is still called a "classical beauty" or said to possess a "classical beauty", whilst the foundations laid by Greek and Roman artists have also supplied the standard for male beauty in western civilization. | ||
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| + | Beauty ideals may contribute to racial oppression. For example, a prevailing idea in [[American culture]] has been that black features are less attractive or desirable than white features. The idea that blackness was ugly was highly damaging to the psyche of African Americans, manifesting itself as [[internalized racism]]. The [[black is beautiful]] cultural movement sought to dispel this notion. Conversely, beauty ideals may also promote racial unity. Mixed race children are often perceived to be more attractive than their parents because their genetic diversity protects them from the inherited errors of their individual parents. | ||
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| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| *[[Beauty and the beast]] | *[[Beauty and the beast]] | ||
Revision as of 06:52, 18 October 2009
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- "La beauté sera CONVULSIVE ou ne sera pas." --André Breton « Nadja » :
- "Le beau est toujours bizarre." (Eng: what is beautiful is always bizarre.) --Baudelaire
- "The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvellous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life." -- Sir Hugh Walpole
Beauty is commonly defined as a characteristic present in a person, place, object or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning or satisfaction to the mind or to the eyes, arising from sensory manifestations such as a shape, color, personality, sound, design or rhythm. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology and culture. Beauty, as a cultural creation, is also extremely commercialized.
The subjective experience of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a common phrase attributed to this concept.
In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a salient experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own existence. An "object of beauty" is anything that reveals or resonates with personal meaning. Hence religious and moral teachings often focus on the divinity and virtue of beauty, and to assert natural beauty as an aspect of a spirituality and truth.
History of beauty
There is evidence that a preference for beautiful faces emerges early in child development, and that the standards of attractiveness are similar across different genders and cultures. Symmetry is also important because it suggests the absence of genetic or acquired defects. Although style and fashion vary widely, cross-cultural research has found a variety of commonalities in people's perception of beauty. The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, such as Pythagoras. The Pythagorean school saw a strong connection between mathematics and beauty. In particular, they noted that objects proportioned according to the golden ratio seemed more attractive. Ancient Greek architecture is based on this view of symmetry and proportion.
Classical philosophy and sculptures of men and women produced according to these philosophers' tenets of ideal human beauty were rediscovered in Renaissance Europe, leading to a re-adoption of what became known as a "classical ideal". In terms of female human beauty, a woman whose appearance conforms to these tenets is still called a "classical beauty" or said to possess a "classical beauty", whilst the foundations laid by Greek and Roman artists have also supplied the standard for male beauty in western civilization.
Beauty ideals may contribute to racial oppression. For example, a prevailing idea in American culture has been that black features are less attractive or desirable than white features. The idea that blackness was ugly was highly damaging to the psyche of African Americans, manifesting itself as internalized racism. The black is beautiful cultural movement sought to dispel this notion. Conversely, beauty ideals may also promote racial unity. Mixed race children are often perceived to be more attractive than their parents because their genetic diversity protects them from the inherited errors of their individual parents.
See also
