One of the earliest explanations is from the quotation of Diotima of Mantinea from Greek Antiquity (From Plato’s symposium).

Drawing attention to the ordinary perception and the confusions that arises from quick and passionate responses to things, explained the limitations of ordinary people. If these limitations are to be overcome, one must be instructed and shaped with habitual exposure to what is beautiful and encouraged to love them.  By learning to observe the real beauty in objects, one will soon realize beauty of one form is akin to another.  When beauty of form in general is one’s pursuit then one will realize the beauty in every form is one and the same, realizing this one will abate one’s violent love for only one form and recognizes the common beauty in all forms. One will eventually progress to understand beauty of mind is the more honorable than the beauty of outward form. (Notes from Great Ideas of Philosophy – Professor Daniel N Robinson)

To consider a thing to be beautiful,

  • Is beauty being all in beholders eyes? 
  • Does beauty of an object depend on innate features of that object?

What was Diotima referring to instructions and habitual exposure?  

A trained mind will appreciate a specific beauty of an object. Children of a musician will learn and appreciate music better than others. Associates of a painter will understand the beauty of a painting or a sculpture better than others. Followers of a wiseman will soon realize the transient nature of all things observed and find same beauty in all objects.

Thus, with habitual exposure one develops native, sensuous and reflective power which expresses itself in sound aesthetic judgements.

Let us consider the theories put forward by David Hume and Immanuel Kant on the topic of beauty.

David Hume writes, beauty refers to the way senses respond to objects and how mental operations will then fashion esthetic judgements of them. In his 1757 Essay on the standard of taste wrote “A thousand different sentiments excited by same object are all right.  Because no sentiment can represent what is really in the object. It only marks certain conformity or relation between the object and faculties of mind. Beauty is a not a quality in things themselves, it exists merely in minds that contemplate them, and each mind perceives a different beauty”. He did agree that amid all variety and forms of taste there are certain universal tendencies and sentiments in humans.

Immanuel Kant identifies these characteristics to be present in a sound judgement including a sound aesthetic judgement – Judgement must be independent, judgement is universal, the object being judged has necessary aesthetic properties and that objects has a purpose though not serving a purpose. 

  • Independent Judgement – no utility value, no political, no religious, no extrinsic values
  • Universal judgement – shared by all comparable competent persons. (Music performance should be judged by trained musicians)
  • Object’s necessary aesthetic properties – properties relating to the aesthetic pleasure arising from it. (A soprano singer does not necessarily have to be a great dancer)
  • Object should have a purpose thought not serving a purpose – Photo of a landscape has a purpose even though it may not serve any purpose (like a photo in sales brochure)

Thus, an Object is not beautiful because it pleases, it pleases because it is beautiful.

G.E.Moore’s  in his book Principia Ethica (1903) refers to objects of beauty remains beautiful even when there are no observers. Example is the beauty of rectangular triangle, even when there are no physical triangles the Pythagorean formula will remain true.

After learning these three theories, let us examine our everyday behavior and acceptance of what is beautiful.

Our judgement of beauty is skewed by our Religion, Politics and Morals beliefs.

  • Iconic forms presented by religion will be accepted as beautiful and reject any other form that opposes religious beliefs.
  • Politics will persuade us to accept a hat, a flag, a map, or a painting as beautiful.
  • Morals will make us reject a painting that is morally offence though it is beautifully painted.

We need to free our judgements from these three erroneous influences and to judge with open mind after sufficient study and exposure to the topic.

As habitual exposure influences judgements, with habitual exposure to hatred, jealousy and pessimism will makes one cynical, envious, and depressed.   Groups and families must stay optimistic in all situations. Just like a musician’s children have a good chance to become a musician, an optimist’s children will become optimists.

Let us project beauty with noble simplicity and quite grandeur, as the renaissance marble statues did not use the accents of color to be beautiful.