What is beauty? The Aesthetics series🏺
So what are the constitutional blocks and mechanisms at play to make this very awe inspiring thing we term “beauty”.
I am glad you asked. I have been itching to write about this exact question. Even holding off, ingesting 10mg of Cetirizine OD, so I maintain the aforementioned literary itch. Firstly, let us outline the 4 sources of beauty. There are two volumes in the aesthetics series. Each series will dissect 2 sources of beauty for your perusal. More importantly, tips on how you can integrate any these sources into your own life will be offered, so you may beautify your existence and experience.
Source of beauty no. 1
via collaboration and discussion…
…using the other’s ideology in a constructive form, as a springboard for further discussion.
How to harness source no.1?
~Act with curiosity rather than discontent, when you come across a differing opinion.
Source of beauty no. 2
We get bored of simple things…
…beauty is found when the challenge is ‘“just right”.
How to I harness source no. 2?
~Welcome complexity wholeheartedly, to add richness to your existence.
Source 1 dissected
via collaboration and discussion…
…using the others ideology in a constructive form, as a springboard for further discussion.
~Act with curiosity rather than discontent.
A discussion in which both parties come off better informed and slightly more nuanced in their worldview, at the end. Each person presents a dissecting proposition, in the hopes of getting closer to a unified truth — something akin to plato’s ideal forms. So, concepts like Redness, Roundness, Beauty, Justice, or Goodness are Forms (and thus they are commonly capitalized). Individual objects like a red book, a round ball, a beautiful girl, a just action, or a good person reside in the physical realm and are simply different examples of the Forms.
Or maybe you both realise, that on a particular topic, a unifying truth does not exist. But after realising that, you should be OK with it. Being tolerant of the other. Being accepting and encouraging of diversity in thought. As long as differing viewpoints can co-exist, then all is well. If the vibe turns from peaceful cohesion to disharmony, then we have exited the safe space of discussions, and entered the sharp realm of debates a.k.a. “one-upmanship”. Not cool.
Source 2 explained
We get bored of simple things…
…beauty is found when the challenge is ‘“just right”.
~Indeed, complexity adds to the richness of human existence.
There is a fine balance to be struck here. Between a topic being hard-enough to keep us entertained versus being so difficult, that we lose interest.
It is the observation of another human in flow state, that encapsulates the spirit of beauty. Beauty is within movement. Or more specifically beauty arises through the medium of movement. Henceforth our evolutionary valence towards dance, whatever stye it maybe, an example of beauty expressed through movement, symmetry and synchrony.
A side note
As a side note, difficulty is relative to your skillset, and your ability is a movable metric. By that I mean, if you are a terrible salsa dancer, research shows that attending weekly salsa 💃 practice for 3 months, would already set you up to be a Casanova/Salsa Queen (delete as per your gender identity), above and beyond the population average.
Stay tuned for volume of 2 in the Aesthetic series, where we discuss two further sources of beauty, and how you can integrate those within your lifestyle. Till then have a wonderful Sunday 🌞
Dr Ad ALI
