The Great Beauty Debate

What is beauty? As we have seen, the beauty debate has been raging for centuries, and there are strong voices on both sides.

If there is but one thing that can be agreed on when we try to understand the nature of true beauty, it is this:

Beauty is personal.

What makes a person beautiful?

Is it their personality traits? Or perhaps an outstanding character? Is it those little quirks that make them so unique? Is it a certain balance of facial features? Could be the artful application of makeup? Or perhaps a fashionable choice of clothes?

Concepts of beauty are not universal – we all have our own view. It varies from one person to the next; from one age and nation to another – across time, and across the world.

Objective Beauty – or the Beauty of Objects

This line of thought begs a further question: can things be beautiful? If the answer is yes, then we must ask WHY? In what WAY are things beautiful?

At first glance, it may seem obvious that the true beauty debate is reserved for the features of people. But the fact is that we all find something beautiful – and it’s not just the people in our lives. For example, someone may find a certain make and model of car irresistible. Works of art can be very beautiful indeed – no matter what they portray.

Beautiful objects are not just found among the things made by man, either. A beautiful landscape can take one’s breath away. Animals can be adorable, majestic, exquisite. Great mountains, plunging waterfalls, open plans, endless fields of stars against the velvet drapes of night – all of these are beautiful in their own way. Each has inspired poetry and paintings and all manner of celebration.

Truth in Art?

Artists take a good deal of license, however. They are inspired by what they see – and sometimes may even embellish it. It is hard to imagine anything more beautiful than the incredible grace we see in creation. Yet even so, artists use their considerable skill to portray what they feel to be even more beauty.

In our modern age, media has taken for itself the name of artist. And it has not been to our benefit. Every day, modern media forces images of beauty onto us. Or at least – images of what should accept as beautiful.

As a result, we lose our own sense of what is beautiful.

But why should media moguls have the right to decide what is beautiful? Or to tell us what we ought to admire?

Meghan Trainor has the right idea, when she sings her now-famous song, “All About That Bass”. Because the truth is, you are perfect, just the way you are.

The Search for Beauty – A Noble Pursuit, or Vain?

People tend to look at us funny when we think about or talk about beauty. It’s considered a frivolous waste of time. Vanity.

The truth is a different matter.

“The ultimate nature of beauty allows for the sense of telos or goal in experience.”

So said Ronald Schenk in his work, The Soul of Beauty: A Psychological Investigation of Appearance.

Far from being a vain pursuit, a contemplation of beautiful things – whatever beauty may be to each of us – gives our a sense of meaning and purpose. This is why it is a classical pursuit – the most noble work of philosophers throughout the ages. And when we expend our energies thinking about it, we are truly connecting with the great thinkers throughout history.

Of course, when we put physical appearances above the truth of inner beauty, we may well fall prey to vanity. But even contemplating physical attractiveness and beautiful things can be a journey to understanding the higher things of true inner beauty.

What does true beauty mean to you? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line and let us know.