Where does our appreciation of beauty come from?

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KamSingh

KamSingh

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There are many things in this life which are considered beautiful, be it a beautiful car or a beautiful woman.

The question is, how do we intrinsically know when something strikes us as beautiful.

Can it be universally agreed upon when a thing is considered beautiful? How so? Is there a formula to beauty?

If there is no formula, is the source of our inspiration in creating beautiful things the same source of our appreciation for beauty?
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, totally subjective and I know something is beautiful when I see it.
 
I believe beauty (and goodness and truth, which are all interrelated and equally invoked by the OP's question) come from the same source, and are objective in their foundation and principles, even if we individually perceive them differently in their application or circumstances.
 
jceckrosh said:
KamSingh KamSingh Yes, I used to own one of your knives and foolishly sold it. So was wondering if you were still at it.
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I remember it clearly, one of my favorites. Would make a fine addition and complete @Dawkind 's set if he has not acquired it already. While I would love to get back in the shop, now just does not feel like the right time, maybe that will change, who knows.

AVigil said:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, totally subjective and I know something is beautiful when I see it.
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Is it though? Is it just a matter of opinion? If we can all unanimously agree a sunset is beautiful is there not something deeper bringing us to this conclusion.

David Mary said:
I believe beauty (and goodness and truth, which are all interrelated and equally invoked by the OP's question) come from the same source, and are objective in their foundation and principles, even if we individually perceive them differently in their application or circumstances.
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So good taste is simply an ability to distinguish and perceive the truth?
 
proportion is super important to me
 
KamSingh said:
So good taste is simply an ability to distinguish and perceive the truth?
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I don't think it can be stated so simply without leaving a lot of ancillary matters untouched. The philosophical and theological ramifications of your question are, I think, far beyond the scope of what people typically want to discuss in this forum. But broadly speaking, I believe beauty is a term that includes both objective and subjective elements, though ultimately the highest possible beauty, truth and goodness is the foundation upon which it all necessarily rests and from which it is modeled.
 
KamSingh KamSingh no, a vote does not solidify if something is beautiful.

Believe it or not how you see a sunset is not how all people see it. Depending on the atmosphere or particles in the sky people will see the same sunset differently. Also depending on how a persons eyes perceived the light and color they are seeing something totally different.

A sunset is determined by those who observe it will determine if it is beautiful or not.

Also beauty is subjective. There tribes around the globe that have a different idea as to what beauty is that many would not see as beautiful at all.
 
I believe that our appreciation of beauty is very much tied to memory, feelings and experiences.

Let me give you two examples of this........

When I was a child we lived briefly in London. My father had a cousin who owned a Jaguar 3.8 MkII. Very day I would ride to school in that car. I will never forget the beautiful lines, curved fenders and smell of the burgundy leather interior. Too this day I am still in love with it.

One of the very first custom knives that ever grabbed my eye as a boy was a Charlie Ochs Special Forces Bowie with Black Micarta handle. I had never seen one in the flesh but one was pictured in Sid Latham's book and it was featured in Ken Warner's knife annual.
To this day I still love the lines and features of that knife. The beautifully shaped guard, subtle swedge and slight recurve to the blade.
As a boy I could never afford one, I now own three. The last one purchased directly from Charlie at Blade in 2016. Is it considered beautiful?........to me.....yes.

Why do I love these two objects? Are they extra specially stylish or beautiful? Or do they remind you of a time and feeling in your life when your eye saw something pure and beautiful and you where hooked forever.

I could go on about various things like guns, watches, houses and of course......the fairer sex. But that's for another day!;)
 
Beauty is very subjective, in knives, cars, women, scenery etc.

I don't know the answer to your question, but there are many knives others find beautiful that I don't.

Some knives, I have a physical reaction to (both in liking a piece or being put off by a piece).
 
Good thread, Kam. There's enough theology in this to make a monk reflect for a week... ;)

Universal? Yes: Of course there is IMMEDIATE beauty in viewing objects, places, and people. We have all been guided by symmetry, curves, proportion, Fibonacci, colors, and more in a VERY visual (advertising) world.

Nature produces shapes and forms which boggle our minds in their result. Some have CLASSIC beauty, and.... some life forms are grotesque.

What gives us pause is when we look deeper and study the blank spaces, the intentionally changed, the out-of-the-norm shape, the unusual method of build, which requires us to think deeper to appreciate it's intent. Subliminal hints.

That puzzle is even MORE rewarding when understood.

Bob: you nailed it. Our interpretation of beauty is largely tempered by our past.

EX: I went to photo contest/exhibit for teens. My son won 'best composition' on his image. I looked at all the entrants and thought "That's nice...."

Then the curator went through each image and shared her educated thoughts on color, placement, subjects, focus, and more. EVERY one of them had more to it that I saw at first. I was impressed with HER eye and her retelling.

That was beauty explained. Just because we don't see it at first, may be because we aren't aware of all the aspects.
 
SharpByCoop SharpByCoop yes, I was thinking about this thread afterwards at work, and one of the things I wanted to add, which I see you have basically stated, is that sometimes beauty is contextual. Such as your grotesque (looking) organisms, which nevertheless have an essential role to play in the beautiful tapestry of nature.
 
After many years of collecting what i deemed beautiful objects I have come to this conclusion

Material objects are not true beauty

True beauty is

acts of selfless kindness

Noble deeds

The love of a devoted mother

Taking care of a sick loved one

Willingness to give your life for a righteous cause

You get the point
 
have your ever seen a video of a colour blind person put on glasses that allow them to see colour for the first time? There are plenty of these videos out there, and they show the power of beauty, imo. Seeing these people break down in tears, having seen the simple beauty of colour that the rest of us take for granted says a lot to me about what beauty and awe is
 
Nature certainly has a wide variety of animals, some beautiful, some not so much, one lives deep in the black of the sea while the other soars in the light of the heavens, the latter without a doubt has a better view of the world.

Flying high gives one the power to sh*t on others from a great height but also the ability to lift them up to see with greater clarity, maybe the humble fish should be so grateful to be plucked from the river.
 
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