On the nature of Beauty

[alan]

Beauty awakens the mind, and develops it. Certainly no one would argue against a mind open to the subtle joys of life? In my opinion, anything that inclines the mind to thoughtful contemplation is a good, and should be celebrated.
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[alan...]

i would say it's more of a psychological question than a philosophical one.

[tiltbillings]

Beauty awakens the mind, and develops it. Certainly no one would argue against a mind open to the subtle joys of life? In my opinion, anything that inclines the mind to thoughtful contemplation is a good, and should be celebrated.
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You do not subscribe to Puritan Buddhism?

[alan]

Guess I'm not a puritan, because I think there is value in contemplating beauty. Even more so in creating it.

[tiltbillings]

Guess I'm not a puritan, because I think there is value in contemplating beauty. Even more so in creating it.

You won't get an argument out of me on that.

[Jeffrey]

Hello, gentlemen, and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2013. Just got caught up with everything that remained undone after a year-end vacation and would like to thank you for all your comments. Unfortunately, I don't have the background to follow some of the points being made here and I remain as confused as when I first started this thread several weeks ago. How is it, if beauty is part of the object, that two people can see the same object as both beautiful and ugly? This is true within cultures, and perhaps even more so across them, suggesting many (but perhaps not all) aesthetic properties are socially constructed.

My apologies in advance for my thick-headedness.

[gendun]

According to Aquinas beauty lies in perception.
Specifically " That which, the perception of, pleases "