The term beauty is one word that conjures up different thoughts for different people. Beauty is commonly defined as the aesthetic quality of certain objects, which makes these objects enjoyable to see. These objects can be natural like sunsets, landscapes, beautiful humans and other works of art. Beauty, along with personal taste and aesthetics, is still the most significant theme of aesthetics, another of the three major branches of modern philosophy. The three branches are metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics.
In the twentieth century there has been a tendency to merge the ideas of aesthetics with those of metaphysics. For instance, in the work of Immanuel Kant he suggests that we have an aim in life, an ideal of beauty that gives us the right and ability to value and deserve to be a human being. However, many philosophers disagree with this idea. For some philosophers including Leo Tolstoy, the idea of beauty is completely subjective, determined by the particular culture in which an object resides. Others however, like Immanueladded that beauty is objective, something that is objectively measured.
We may all be attracted to different kinds of beauty. Some may find the face of a woman attractive, while others may find the body of a man beautiful. No matter what our personal tastes may be there is one thing that we share; that we all feel beautiful. When you walk down the street and look at all the beautiful objects that there are, you begin to realize that there is a part of us all that feels beautiful, and is worthy of being seen.
We may all come up with different definitions of beauty. Beauty to one beholder is something completely different from beauty to another beholder. I believe that a definition is only as good as the person who gave it, and beauty is something that can be measured by the individual who sees it. If you look at most statues and paintings, you will notice that they are created with a particular ‘look’ to them. While this might not be a fixed form, it is still worth studying as there is beauty in all of us.
We have been conditioned from birth to believe that beauty is only skin deep. The definition given to us by our parents, society and even our own family can impact our ideas about beauty. Our own opinion of beauty is often formed by what we see around us. If you grew up surrounded by industrial products that were full of chemicals and toxins, you might think that you would look rather drab and dirty, no matter how pretty the statues and paintings in your home were. The beauty around you was mostly sickly and uninteresting. This can affect how you see yourself, and how you see other people.
When you choose to forgive yourself for your faults, you allow yourself to be beautiful. You also allow yourself the freedom to truly love yourself for exactly who you are. It is impossible to stay in a state of perfection, anger or dissatisfaction; it has no place in a loving relationship. While it is important to be happy and content, it is more important to find a way to be happy and content with your physical side. This alone can lead to your true beauty.
