Beauty is widely defined as a subjective feature of things that makes these things enjoyable to see. These things include sunsets, landscapes, beautiful humans and unique works of art. Beauty, along with beauty and art, is perhaps the most important area of aesthetics, among the major branches of anthropology, one of the oldest fields of science, and one of the most influential fields of culture in the world.
What exactly is beauty then? According to the basics of aesthetic theory, beauty is defined as a “composition of varied values determined by the proportion to each value of the elements of which the composition is made.” Thus beauty includes the harmony of different things, such as color, form, line, space, texture and height. It is also considered to be an aesthetic value, which suggests a harmony and order in the world.
Aesthetic appreciation of beauty is often compared to the human form. Humans are constantly striving to improve their physical attributes by means of artistic expression. This can be seen throughout history when artists have presented their paintings in a way that they feel will enhance the lives of those who view it. In modern aesthetics, this has become a central focus, especially in the visual arts.
The major premise of aesthetic theory is that there are two separate types of aesthetic experiences; objective and subjective. Objective aesthetic experience is the direct product of our judgments. Subjective aesthetic experience, on the other hand, is influenced by our personal feelings and thoughts. In essence, then, the two are different concepts, and only one can fully define beauty, and its components.
Beauty then is judged according to the extent to which it satisfies the aesthetic senses. However, there are many different opinions on what constitutes beauty. Some would say that all beauty is purely subjective, while others would go as far as to say that some types of beauty are objective, and are formed by the personal opinions of the viewer. There is a third school of thought that says that beauty is only as good as the audience’s reaction to it. If the aesthetic reaction is good, then beauty is good, and if it is bad, beauty is bad.
To conclude, beauty as defined by the major schools of aesthetic theory, is only as good as the audience’s response to it. Individual tastes can greatly vary in accordance with this. Beauty as defined by the humanities, on the other hand, is determined primarily by the internal logic of human psychology, combined with the aesthetic sensibility of the artist.
