What Is Beauty?
- Nikolas Greene
- Jul 5, 2023
- 3 min read
Beauty, we are told, is in the eye of the beholder. Do we have reason to believe this? Do people who repeat this phrase actually believe it? I think the short answer to both of these questions is a resounding no. Let's explore why.
First, lets define what beauty is. Aquinas defines beauty as "that which, when perceived, pleases." Probably not how most people would define beauty. What does Aquinas mean by this definition? To understand him, we must realize that he is working with a framework that sees beauty as objective. For Aquinas, to say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is as absurd as saying that truth is in the mind of the knower. Both beauty and truth are realities that have intrinsic existence. A thing simply is beautiful regardless of what an external observer thinks. The Grand Canyon would still be beautiful even if no one knew of its existence. We do not simply confer beauty upon things, but rather, we experience the beauty within things.
Why then do some people dispute what things are and aren't beautiful? Wouldn't this lend credence to the idea that beauty is subjective? No. Disagreements do not in any way suggest subjectivity. People disagree about all sorts of objective realities all the time. People have all sorts of different metaphysical and scientific theories, does this suggest that metaphysics and science are both interested in realities which are subjective? Of course not. One may get an incorrect answer on a math exam. Does this mean that we should do away with mathematics? No. Disagreements are not good evidence of subjectivity
Think of how crazy it would be if you were standing in awe of a sunrise and your friend came up and told you that it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. You wouldn't respond by saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", you would probably feel anger. Yet, if beauty is subjective, then that feeling of anger wouldn't make any sense. Think if a husband said to his wife "You may be beautiful to me, but you actually possess no beauty within yourself. Without me, you would cease being beautiful." That marriage might not last very long. Yet, these examples would have to make sense if beauty were subjective.
If beauty were subjective, then that would make all claims about beauty utterly meaningless. One could not say that one thing is more or less beautiful that another thing. After all, it's all dependent on the beholder. This would lead to all sorts of absurd conclusions like a pile of maggots eating a carcass is equally as beautiful as a work of art. Subjective beauty leads to all sorts of philosophical problems, and, if taken to its logical conclusions, becomes an untenable position to hold.
We have another reason to think that beauty is objective, namely, God's existence.
God's nature is objective
God's nature is beauty
Therefore, beauty is objective
It seems to me that a Christian cannot dispute the first two premises, therefore, he must also accept the conclusion. To put it simply, if God exists then beauty is objective. If God does not exist then beauty is subjective.
Let's revisit Aquinas' definition of beauty and see if it now makes more sense. When we perceive a thing, we recognize that it has an objective nature. That nature possesses beauty to some degree. After perceiving the beautiful nature of a thing, it pleases us. Again, the whole experience of beauty points to its objectivity.
What then makes a thing beautiful? This is a more tricky question. As stated earlier, God's existence points to objective beauty, and vice versa. The existence of particular beauties points to an absolute beauty (Aquinas' fourth way). One popular answer is that a thing is beautiful inasmuch as it reveals God. The more a particular points to the absolute, the more beauty it possesses. This model seems to me to make the most sense.
Much more can be said about beauty, but that would be beyond the scope of this short blog post. Perhaps in the future we can explore the relationship between beauty and worship, and beauty and the Trinity. Until then, please enjoy a few examples of objective beauty given below.
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