Of our daily lives, our life experience, our goals and desires: The beauty has become an obligation. Whether a vacation, home, garden, utensils, clothing, or we mainly self the idea of beauty celebrated triumphs unstoppable. But what is beautiful? Are there objective criteria or just the taste? And how far we go to ourselves our ideals of beauty to match?
In everyday life, the beauty is a central value: It determines not only eroticism and sexuality, but has become a must and it is not limited to this area of fashion. In art, it is an aim of human creativity, but also other beautiful illusion and distraction. From the philosophy of the connection of beauty comes with the concepts of truth and goodness, what in the attractiveness of research nowadays is popular again. Can these broad areas, claiming the beauty for yourself, ever be objective criteria for what is beautiful? Or the beauty is really an expression of subjective feeling? If you look around in the history of mankind, will recognize that the views about what is beautiful, huge walk apart and their mark up to the present time are visible.
The harmony is beautiful
From Antiquity to the Renaissance was trying to find universal criteria for beauty. For the ancient Greeks, these were mainly proportionality, symmetry and harmony, closely related to truth and morality. In art, however, contrary to a widespread belief, especially the imitation of reality was the ultimate task, but implementation had already be appealing and appropriate. The philosopher claimed that in the sensory perception of the spirit may be addressed and linked the idea of beauty with the idea of the good.
Divine: Beautiful is In the Middle Ages it was believed that the luster and radiance of beauty have a luminosity that you are not able to explain rationally. The author, therefore, only God came into question. The medieval artists found themselves much more than craftsmen who created their works mainly on behalf of political or religious goals.
The artistic ideal: beautiful is the Renaissance was the beauty of artistic ideal. In his artistic works, man should surpass the beauty in nature and do not visible. The doctrine of the right proportions was revived and created the concept of the Fine Arts, to which at that time painting, sculpting were, music, poetry, dance, architecture and rhetoric.
Something like: beautiful is this oft-quoted saying today meets in the 18 “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Century on the amount of time, for here the beauty is an expression of a subjective attitude, the terms “taste”, “riot” and “pleasure” are booming. The taste is not individual, but a skill that can be learned. The differences in the judgments do not come through different tastes, but by the degree of sensitivity to beauty. But there is now objective qualities that are appreciated: smallness, smoothness, softness, smooth transitions and colors.
Beautiful: the bill makes In modernity, the ugly in the theory of beauty noticeable and thus represents the beginning on the way to the disenchantment represents the beauty is as the will to note that distracts us from the ugly truth, but also as seen fatal temptation and finally replaced by interesting. The interesting thing is no ideal standard and is constantly in motion, it can be but surpassed any time. Art, too, sees the beauty in the 20th Century is very critical to have especially totalitarian systems, like Nazism and Communism, based on the classical ideal of beauty. Only postmodernism bring this ideal out again and discovered the kitsch again by deliberately plays with the popular taste of beauty.
Man: beautiful fashion, design, beauty and advertising live by the promise of beauty. We combine beauty with high quality of life and hope of their social acceptance and belonging. Beautifully designed goods promised whatever freedom, happiness, sex and success, we are charged not only with money but also with our attention. At the center of all the beauty debate is still the handsome man. Beauty industry, perfumery, cosmetics and not least the cosmetic surgery benefits from our desire for physical attractiveness.
The relationship between beauty and positive qualities still works: beautiful people, we are assuming, often have an easier time in everyday life, at work and in love life anyway . Even more disappointing is the central feature that is found in cross-cultural studies for all cultures studied as beautiful: the inconspicuous average face, coupled with smooth skin and symmetrical facial features and youthfulness. Disappointing but only at first glance: The trend itself is responsible for border improvement strategies can flourish cosmetic surgery.
