Beauty is an emotion that arouses feelings of awe and wonder. It is a feeling that can be experienced by people of different backgrounds, cultures and even species. Essentially, it is the feeling that something is pleasing to look at or to hear, to taste, to feel and to think about.
The earliest traces of the concept of beauty have been found in ancient Greece and Rome. Originally, the term was used to describe physical features such as symmetry and shape. However, as time went by, the idea became more and more subjective. Eventually, people started to question the materialistic approach and began to focus on more spiritual concepts that would better reflect the true nature of human beings.
When looking at a beautiful person, you should take into consideration their personality and the qualities they possess. For instance, if a woman is empty spiritually, she can’t make herself impressive with her decorated face; likewise, if a man isn’t confident and bold, he doesn’t have real beauty.
Traditionally, beauty was associated with feelings that aroused what artists and art critics called the higher emotions. This is a special sense that aroused a desire for a deeper understanding of the world and its people; a desire to see beyond what was normal in the day-to-day.
In modern society, the traditional definition of beauty has been lost as people have grown more secular. Rather than arousing these feelings, most modern art and literature is seen in terms of formal qualities such as color, style and harmony.
This is a good thing as it means that we can appreciate things without bias. However, it can also be a problem as it creates a divide between the art and the viewer.
Some philosophers have attempted to reconcile this with the fact that we are unable to judge things objectively, i.e. that we cannot know what is truly beautiful unless we experience it first-hand.
Others have suggested that beauty is an innate human quality that we must develop in order to achieve it. This can be done by learning how to use our bodies properly and developing the qualities that will enhance us as a whole.
One of the main problems with this theory is that it does not account for the way in which we are able to judge beauty based on our own experiences. This is an issue that philosophers like Immanuel Kant have tried to address but failed to do so successfully.
The Platonic tradition was inclined to push beauty to the realm of ideal thought beyond perception, but Aristotle emphasised an approach that regards it as part of the functioning of the real world.
This has led to a shift in thinking, which has centered around the concept that beauty begets quality and is an integral part of the creative process. This approach has been embraced by many artists and has led to some beautiful artworks.
However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed regarding beauty in our culture. For starters, we need to get rid of the unrealistic images of the body that are portrayed by popular media and advertisements. We need to stop sending young impressionable women out into the world with images that are unattainable and to start educating them on what a real and healthy body looks like.