Using the term beauty in this article, I will discuss how the concept is used in Ancient and Modern cultures. I will also discuss how a concept of beauty has been treated by different philosophers in the past, including Aristotle and Kant.
Ancient treatments of beauty
Getting a pedicure might be the last thing on your mind if you’re working at the office or in an industry where appearance counts for a living. But the ancients had some great tips and tricks. From hair styles to facial cosmetics, they had it covered. And, they had a good time doing it.
The ancients also had a better way to define the obvious likes, so to speak. From the 18th century onward, the white race took the stage as the standard for political and social power. To keep up, the gents went to the salons. The latest fad was to make the best of the situation by covering smallpox scars with beauty marks. It might have been the naivete of the day, but at least you looked your best.
As with anything, the ancients had some duds. For instance, the most beautiful women in the world might have been the offspring of a slave. While that is no fun, the ancients were smart enough to recognize that a nice looking slave could be a pretty handy sexiest. It also helps that the aforementioned females were more than willing to pamper themselves. And, they could splurge on a little retail therapy at the same time. Whether they were ogling each other or the newest fashion trends, they certainly made the most of it. And, they got a lot of credit for it.
Aristotelian pluralist formulation
Among the many things Aristotle had to say about beauty, one is that it can be measured with a simple formula. The formula is referred to as summetria. It is an example of the Aristotelian pluralist formulation of beauty.
It is a mathematical formula that describes the properties of a beautiful object. It may include features of the beautiful object, or the pleasures of the person who experiences the object. The golden ratio appears to be a reference to this concept.
The Aristotelian pluralist formulation of the beauty is a good way to illustrate that the pursuit of beauty is not just an intellectual exercise. Aristotle believed that beauty was the arrangement of integral parts in a harmonious manner into a coherent whole.
He also believed that something that is good is also beautiful. In fact, he argued that every living thing is naturally good. Aristotle was a philosopher and therefore developed several concepts in the field of aesthetics. He claimed that beauty is a middle ground between excess and deficiency. He also said that symmetry and proportion were keys to beauty. He believed that symmetry is a universal criterion for beauty.
It is also a useful logical device for pluralism. It enables us to use as many elements as we need to complete our analysis. The Aristotelian pluralist formulation is not strictly a scientific theory, but multiple scientists and scholars support it.
There is still much debate on the importance of moral and physical beauty. Aristotle’s theories on aesthetic judgment have been challenged by scholars and scientists throughout the centuries. The most important aspect of Aristotle’s ideas is that they suggest that the struggle for aesthetic judgment has remained constant through time.
Kant’s objectivist approach
Objectivists such as Kant were concerned with the nature of the art objects that could be judged beautiful. They believed that aesthetic judgments should be objective and universally valid. They also claimed that the subject’s own feelings of pleasure should be assimilated into the judgments of the agreeable.
In his “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment”, Kant addresses how these art objects can be judged. He distinguishes between judgments of the agreeable and judgments of the beautiful. He argues that judgments of the beautiful should not be compelled by rules. He also argues that the subjective feeling of pleasure should precede judging.
A number of works have been published on the issue of Kant’s objectivist approach to beauty. Some of these works are written from an analytic perspective and others are from a more subjectivist standpoint. The following discussion focuses on the issues raised by these writings.
The first aspect of Kant’s objectivist theory of beauty relates to the characterizations of judgments of the beautiful. He argues for a single account of beauty for natural objects. He does not argue for a separate account for judgments of adherent beauty.
The second aspect of Kant’s objectivist analysis of beauty relates to the judgments of the sublime. He argues that there is a relationship between the internal structure of organisms and the structure of aesthetic judgments. He makes the case for a link between the internal structures of aesthetic judgments and the political judgments that are made.
The third aspect of Kant’s objectivist aesthetics involves his approach to aesthetics and ethics. He argues that people take an interest in the preservation of beautiful art objects. He discusses how these art objects can be produced. He makes a link between aesthetics and empirical cognition. He also suggests that nonrepresentational art is more superior to representational art.
Modern notion of beauty
During classical antiquity, Greek philosophers began to consider beauty as an attribute of the human form. Using the terminology of “being,” they defined beauty as a harmonious whole and the relation between form and parts.
While the ancients understood the concept of beauty as being intrinsically good, they did not believe that art and beauty were separate fields of study. In fact, they saw the two as complementary.
During the Renaissance, the idea of beauty in art and nature was revived. New ideals of beauty matched changing social mores. These ideals tended to be fleshier and heftier than Botticelli’s.
During the nineteenth century, the idea of beauty in art was commodified. Artists like Warhol used his idea of beauty to promote and sell paintings and sculpture. His work included a series of paintings based on Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, 1482.
Modern aesthetics is a discipline that studies the meaning of beauty through the modern psychological and empirical perspectives. It covers the expressions of beauty in artistic creations and their values.
A modern understanding of beauty emphasizes the subject’s contribution to the observation of an object. This is a departure from classical notions of beauty, which did not emphasize the subject’s contributions. In addition, the modern view ignores the unparalleled beauty of nature and other forms of beauty.
One of the most significant influences on the modern notion of beauty is Helena Rubinstein, a businesswoman, fashion designer, and arts patron. Her collection of artworks straddled the lines between commerce and design.
By the mid-eighteenth century, the study of aesthetics was a distinct discipline, focusing on the role of the subject in perceiving beauty. Esther Oluffa Pedersen, a professor of art history at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that Kant’s pre-critical notions of aesthetics differed from his later conceptions.
Art provokes an emotional response
Creating art involves passing on your emotions to others. For example, if you are reading a story with sad characters, you may experience a more dramatic response. This is not to say that all works of art require an emotional response. Rather, it just shows that you can’t enjoy a work without some sort of response.
The art of eliciting an emotional response from your audience is a skill that requires your own attention. You must be clear in your mind about the nature of the work. You also must remember that art is not a direct representation of reality. If you are reading a piece of literature, you will not be able to appreciate the story as much as if you had an emotional reaction.
There are a lot of things that can be done to elicit an emotional response from your audience. Depending on the art you are dealing with, you can choose to elicit an affective state through the use of music, poetry, or even literary figures of speech.
One of the best ways to evoke an emotion is to create a visual artwork that mimics the liminal space. This is a very effective technique because it can be used to replicate a specific moment in time, or a specific situation. For instance, a photograph of a happy day can evoke a sense of tranquility. You could try to elicit a similar effect by watching a rainstorm fall.
However, to elicit the best possible result, you need to choose the optimum visual artwork. In fact, this is a tricky task, as many works of art can elicit an emotional response. For example, the best artwork might be the most technically perfect.
