Blog #1: What is Beauty?

What is beauty? I believe beauty is infinite and personable. I see beauty in people. Every single person is incredibly unique in their very own way. There is not one person in the world that is precisely the same as another. In fact, in the Bible it says God created us (humans) in his own image and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I am in love with those words: we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I think what is so neat about that description is that everyone will look at that verse and have a different idea of what it means. Essentially, without going into too much detail, that screams out to me that everyone is made different! In my belief, God’s greatest creation is every single human ever created. He tells us that He knitted us in our Mother’s womb. I believe that God took such precious time in the creation of each individual which is so beautiful in itself; to think that the most powerful God in the universe who spoke it into creation took his time on us as humans, sons and daughters, is powerful. In fact, it puts me in awe every time I think about it.

After hearing each person in our class on their different, insightful definitions of what beauty is I realized something. NO ONE FREAKING KNOWS. The thing is, we all think differently because we are different. We grew up differently, have experienced different things, and because of that think differently as well. With that being said, I was further encouraged that while my definition of beauty may not be the best or even right, there was some truth in it. People are different. They think different. And that is absolutely beautiful. I find great freedom from the pressure of knowing. At times, we as students can become to bogged down by feeling overwhelmed by mystery. However, the way I see it we have two options if the unknown. We can either let if defeat us and take us over, or we can find absolute freedom in knowing that we don’t know and that’s okay! So the truth is, at first I was in a moment of freaking out as the class share their deep definitions of what beauty is. But then I realized that I don’t need to know. I don’t need to have the best answer. There is freedom is not and maybe just maybe, there is beauty in not even knowing what beauty is. 

Michael Costas, What is Beauty?

August 31, 2015

Definition of Beauty:

Beauty is that which is holy, unique, set apart, mysterious, and evokes a sense of awe, wonder, and creatureliness. 

Example of Beauty:

An ocean embodies beauty by its stunning and sublime appearance. Oceans also hide a whole other world of animals and ecosystems mysteriously thriving without human knowledge or control.

After Thoughts:

After some thought and discussion, the question “what is beauty?” has proven to be far more complex and multifaceted topic of inquiry than I ever anticipated. Listening to everyone in class share, question, and criticize the multifarious viewpoints of beauty, I observed that everyone assumes the objective reality of beauty. We have all grown up feeling, thinking, and saying certain things to be beautiful. However, for most of us, it may have been the first time we have ever seriously questioned why certain objects and experiences lead us to feel a certain way or what reality lies behind the beauty we claim that specific things embody. 

Many in the class seem to take the postmodern position that beauty is subjective to the individual. Another prevalent theme in the discussion was the connection between beauty and feelings. Are feelings and responsive impulses the only medium through which humans experience beauty or can beauty also be seen and perceived as an objective fact that seeks us out? A fair number of people attributed holiness and divine qualities to beauty, saying that all earthly beauty is merely a shadow of that which is supremely and preeminently Beautiful. Do beautiful things contain the complete essence we all long for or are they pointers to something else. Is the beauty we observe, here on earth, the fullest reality or does earthly beauty point to a higher reality?

After reflecting on the first week of class, I have more questions than answers about the nature of beauty. My initial inclination is to say that beauty is an objective reality that is subjectively experienced in varying degrees. We are all on a journey to learn how to articulate that ineffable, numinous awe that comes upon us when we encounter beauty.

Dusty Nelson, What is Beauty?

1) Description

Something that awakens your being to a state of naturalness.  It lays bare the most basic and fundamental of human emotion.

2) Example

A morning on my Kayak a few weeks ago.

3) After thoughts

It was interesting to me that most people seemed to be trying to describe a feeling or emotion that is present when something beautiful is encountered. And even though different things bring this out in us, this emotion was very similar.  Spiritual and soulful are some of the words that come to mind when I think of what people were describing.  And even though what people were describing seemed to have an undertone of unity or community or connectedness, the experiences seemed unique to the individual.  For beauty to present itself it seems that there must be a deep and meaningful connection.  Which leads me to believe that beauty is created through ritual or some other way that allows for a special connection to arise.

-Dusty Nelson

Cameron Cruz What is Beauty

What is beauty? 

Beauty is a personal choice to recognize a unique sensation or feeling in which is received through ones senses or emotions. 

Example

The sky reminds me of beauty because it appeals to our senses as an open landscape that is separate from our daily society, in which we don’t have control of. The sky portrays a life like environment that gives the sensation of elegance, fascination, and exquisitenes.

After thoughts

After much thought and discussion, it became obvious that each person’s view and identity on beauty had some type of relation to others. Many of the views toggled between the ideology of subjective and objective approaches. The uniqueness of each definition created deep thought and doubt of whether beauty has a real definitive definition. My view of beauty is that it is in the eyes of the beholder. Each definition will very, in the end people create definitions based off of perception and argument.  I believe that beauty is something that lies dormant is becomes cognitive when triggered by an event or sensation. In regards to Plato’s definition of beauty, it is one that can be agreed with, but easily manipulated. His thoughts that beauty was a form or idea meant that it could be vulnerable to influences or outside factors that may lead to an artificial definition. The idea of letting outer experiences control something that should be a unique experience, becomes questionable in itself. I think Plato’s definition is one that may have worked in its time, but not in a modern society that reflects off of outside factors.

Patrick Quinn, What is Beauty?

1) Beauty is the inherent good within something. It is a natural, recognizable right that can be expressed or viewed in many different ways.

2) A Lake Vermilion Sunset

3) When I see a sunset on Lake Vermillion, it instills a sense of awe in me. While visually pleasant, there seems to exist a deeper, more profound acknowledgement occurring in my being. The physical, quantifiable phenomena of a sunset seems to point to a greater, higher standard or desire within me. I recognize the ‘good’ or ‘right’ in the sunset.

More thoughts...

After writing several pages of reflection, I whittled down my thoughts to one brief paragraph. Beauty seems to be some sort of recognizable inherent good man perceives either through his senses or his mind. We recognize and label something as beautiful because deep within our own spirits, we long for beauty. Our longing, however, cannot be satisfied in the simple beauties we perceive in this life. Rather, each encounter with beauty seems to strengthen our longing and certainty in something ultimate and eternal, something wholly outside of our own experience. The things we perceive to be beautiful, then, are not meant to meet our desire, but instead act as pointers to something that will. That ultimate “Beauty” is, in fact, God.

What is Beauty?

First Thoughts 

When I first wrote down my ideas on what beauty is, I approached it is visual way. Something is visually beautiful when is it bright, colourful, intricate, symmetric, and/or complex. 

When I thought a bit deeper about what beauty is, there is an emotional aspect to it. Something can be beautiful when gives you an emotional reaction. Something that makes you feel happy, sad, good, hopeful,etc.

An Example of Beauty

The example of beauty I gave in class was a mosque that I saw on reddit.com awhile back. It really stuck in my mind due to it intriguing, colorful ceiling. Right below is the image I am speaking of.

This mosque fit my description of physical beauty, but not really fit the emotionally aspect, at least not in my case. I'm sure for the Muslims who worship there would see it as a much more beautiful place then I do because it is where they go to be closer to God.

Arends, What is Beauty

As discussed in class, I have created a definition for beauty as I see it. That definition is "Everything is beautiful" This brings to light several concerns as my classmates have questioned me over. These questions are such, "what about things that are evil, dirty, or painful (such as cancer)" these concerns have caused me to think more about how I would define beauty.

The original example that I gave for my definition was the Appalachian wilderness, or rather any wilderness. The wilderness allows for many different forms of life to live, flowering fields, towering trees, and beautiful vistas but also terrible storms, raging rivers and deadly forest fires. the balance of life and death allows for an appreciation for the other which allows the good to be beautiful and the terrible to be awesome (awe inspiring) which makes them beautiful too. That is to say that the terrible are beautiful in their enabling of the appreciation of the beauty in the good.

I however have adjusted my definition to, "Everything has the potential to be beautiful but that beauty can only be recognized if given the right point of view, framework, or mindset." That adjustment allows for eliminating the negative actions done by things that in it of themselves are beautiful. That is to say that everything is beautiful but the things they do may not be beautiful. Thus allowing for can cancer to be considered beautiful but not what it does to living things. In other words, if you look at something as terrible as cancer and look at it from a scientific lens and not from  a cause and effect lense, that terrible thing becomes beautiful.