Beauty is a subjective, personal experience. Each moment that someone is able to find beauty speaks something about themselves. They may have a personal connotation from an event they’ve experienced in the past or even something innate that made them predisposed to be physically attracted to whatever they’re viewing. Humans find beauty with words, environments, spirituality, and other humans. Noting this potential for seeking beauty, we have the ability to allow ourselves freedom to provide reflective moments for ourselves that call for self growth.
John Armstrong, author and philosopher at the University of Melbourne, writes of Friedrich Schiller, a German poet and philosopher. Armstrong goes into detail of Schiller’s beliefs of beauty and how they develop in one’s mind. Furthering the interpretation of Schiller’s argument, I will also be incorporating a podcast from Tehya Casey and another from Shiloh and Cameron. Tehya’s interview with her aunt entices a question: does one’s own concept of beauty solely derive from the place you grew up? Shiloh and Cameron’s interview with their professor allows for the addition of a scientific and spiritual perspective. In order to understand the unending limits of beauty in our world, we must dive into any context necessary.
This is the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine. A very rustic example
that displays natural beauty.
From a scientific perspective, our brains have a general layout of the features we find attractive, both in other humans and in our environment. Humans find creatures with large eyes and a smaller body cute and lovable because of our innate disposition to care for our young. When searching for a mate, we search for things that are obviously appealing to us. They may offer a greater sense of joy or have just one trait that one immediately is drawn to. Attraction offers us a sense of what people label as having beauty and seems to derive from what is innate and what you observe around you as you grow. Shaping and changing our beauty standards as we come across new experiences is what makes us human. We all have the ability to take in beauty and utilize it to constructively benefit ourselves.
Humans have an undeniable drive to seek out comfort and security in beautiful things such as art or a landscape. In addition to our visual attraction to things, humans like to add another layer of what they are looking at. Most often, people apply spirituality or humanity in order to gain a greater sense. This added objective allows further inspection of who we are. In Tehya’s interview, her interviewee was able to recall moments where she went in depth about how she was able to find solace in the phases of the moon. She speaks of how they have “control” over many unseen aspects of our daily lives (Tehya interview). The control that the moon gave must have given her a stronger hold on herself. If she was able to find beauty in both a physical and emotional respect, she was able to truly find peace. Schiller brings a point in his essay where he claims how beauty should draw from more perspectives than just the initial view point. In another interview by Shiloh and Cameron, they had interviewed Mary-Katherine Spain. She speaks about how places she finds peace and happiness are also her beautiful spiritual resources. She connects with others through certain rituals that offer them peace. They have a specific location to which the retreat that allows for clarity and genuine peace.
These are phases of the moon that are able to
spiritually captivate some people.
When babies live and breathe, they take in their surroundings like a sponge. Everything babies see, hear, and touch is absorbed and is essentially put into a subconscious thought bank that slowly shapes their future perspectives. If a baby is mistreated and not shown real love, there is a long lasting impression that has been made on them. A baby shown everything but kindness may grow up to be more cynical and unforgiving. As they grow into a person, they may ignore the beauty in the world, as the negativity may drown it all out. This, however is not prevalent in all cases. Many children who were mistreated do end up having a fulfilling life. Humans seek out comfort, which can be applied to any beautiful capacity.
However, finding fulfillment may not be possible without knowing what a favorable environment may be. There needs to be a given balance of what is innate and what opportunities one could have. When allowed to find beauty, it ensures a sense of wonder. Beauty makes us wonder about not only the object sparking the beauty, but about why we perceive it as beautiful. What stimuli, both internal and external, grant us the chance to acquire a common sense of something like beauty? Schiller has an answer for this question. He believes that behind beauty are two factors that have to work together in our minds in order to truly experience it. The first factor is what he refers to as “sense drive” which is a subconsciousness that seeks out immediate gratification; this drive alone creates a state of over-expression. If we were to act immediately all of the time, we would only take things for granted as we would be favoring the outcome over the process. Schiller calls the second factor “form drive”, which is essentially the radical opposite of sense drive. Form drive values the importance of the process. It wants to reach gratitude, but solely when there is a larger picture to be looked at.
The combination of these drives allows for a further positive outlook. What we are viewing can have a great impact on how we will perceive the rest of our day. If it is something foul, we may have a worse outlook than if we saw something that offered exquisiteness. Personally, I believe that I am able to find restoration in the pleasing things I see. A study, conducted by Daniel S. Hamermesh and Jason Abrevaya, delves into the scientific effects of how beauty can shape one’s emotional state, concluding that, “better looks produce a gross positive effect on life satisfaction/happiness” (Hamermesh, Abrevaya). If humans are able to seek out attraction, they could possibly improve their quality of life.
I find beauty within ecosystems. There is a natural balance within an ecosystem where everything stably relies on each other, creating harmony. This represents harmony and peacefulness to me. Our society can really learn something special about our lives from observing a natural environment. To me, harmony is something that is beautiful and should be understood and observed without intervention. A single ecosystem relies in the ocean, forrest, and any other area of land on Earth. Nature is important to me because of its exquisite beauty and because it offers me a moment of reflection. Beauty is a necessary part of happiness that is able to bring reflection into people’s lives.
This is an example of a balanced ecosystem. All animals
rely on each other in order to sustain their lives.
