What is beauty? Beauty is not a visual experience, but rather a perceptual experience of the senses. It may be an aesthetic quality, a moral characteristic, or an intellectual quality. The qualities that make a thing beautiful are those that give the observer pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. These qualities are a fundamental part of beauty. To truly appreciate beauty, a person must possess both the ability and the interest in acquiring it.
While defining beauty is subjective, it has many universal attributes. For example, the Renaissance considered plumpness a sign of wealth. The 90s was the decade of “heroin chic” waifs and their sexy appearance. While this era was largely a time of self-expression and pleasure, today’s beauty definition is based on a more rational understanding of beauty, which seeks to boil down its essence into formulae and models.
For philosophers, beauty has multiple levels. It may be a subjective attribute that is intrinsically valuable to the observer, or it may be the result of a process that is viewed as beautiful. The simplest manifestation of beauty may be a nautilus shell, while a telescopic image of a galaxy is breathtaking. Likewise, the complexity of the world’s cells and molecules speaks to the imagination of mankind.
The Platonic concept of beauty suggests that beauty is a function of purpose. The idea that beauty can be objective is atypical; it is not dependent on the observer’s experience. For example, Alan Moore, a former designer at the legendary advertising agency Patagonia, has argued that beauty arises from a sense of purpose in the creation of an art object. By fostering a strong sense of purpose, a company can attract creative talent, foster effective decision-making and leadership, and create a better workplace culture.
Similarly, people who look at a sunset or flower do not tend to judge them. But when it comes to looking at yourself, there are certain things that will inspire self-acceptance. Taking care of yourself is important, and you can start by embracing the beauty you already possess. You deserve it. If you do not, you will never achieve your goal. Just think of it as a gift to yourself. There is nothing more gratifying than knowing that you are beautiful.
Despite the fact that beauty is about being unique, the idea of beauty as something that is unusual and unique has been a defining idea for creative minds for centuries. Famous poets like Edgar Allen Poe and Karl Lagerfeld said that “There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in proportion.”
In recent years, a resurgence in interest in the concept of beauty has occurred in philosophy and art. Philosophers and artists have attempted to deal with the problem of taste by proposing alternative theories on the meaning of beauty. Others have echoed G.E. Moore’s statement in his book The Abuse of Beauty. While many critics and artists today still see beauty as a defining quality, the definition of beauty is subjective.