Beauty is commonly defined as a subjective feature of things that makes these things enjoyable to perceive. Such things as sunsets, landscapes, humans and other artistic works of art are considered to be beauty. Beauty, along with beauty and art, is perhaps the most important theme of aesthetics, arguably one of the biggest branches of modern-day philosophy. In fact, aesthetics has been called, “the science of beauty.” For instance, French writer Louis de Bernieres declared, “Look at a painting, listen to a song, see a person: it’s all beauty.”
The term “beauty” was first used in English in a print written by someone other than its author, printer and philosopher William Shakespeare. He called it, “gland of the land.” Glinda of the laude, also known as the Love Seat is the ideal divinity for every true aesthete. According to Aristotle, the beauty is that which makes the mind desire the objects of its affections. From this, we derive a deeper understanding of what constitutes beauty and the various ways by which an object of beauty can be appreciated.
According to philosophers like Jean Piaget and Sartre, beauty is defined by our instinctive need to participate in the aesthetic experience in the eye of the beholder. For instance, when we see something beautiful we are driven by a desire to participate in its beauty or in the process of appreciating beauty. Beauty as an essential characteristic of reality comes to the fore in a moment when one meets the real face behind the picture of a work of art, as when we see that which the artist has perceived within the canvas.
Beauty, according to Piaget, is that which appears to be beautiful without the need for experience. It is this that is in the eye of the beholder and not necessarily that which is seen. It is this which determines our level of emotional attachment and aesthetic appreciation, and it is this which is liable to determine the level of beauty that we attribute to ourselves and others. Beauty, according to Piaget, is something that is universal and is therefore not subject to the range of difference that differentiates between persons. He also claims that beauty is a purely subjective quality, lying beyond all efforts to define. It exists independent of culture, race and gender, and is therefore necessarily social, aesthetic and sexual in nature.
The search for beauty is, therefore, an endless one, for each and every person is searching for his or her inner beauty. However, the quest for beauty may seem vain if we analyse the fact that many people say they are beautiful but actually do not look beautiful at all times. When asked why they do not look beautiful, they say because they do not know how. Now this argument may sound simple but it is not, for everything in this world has a reason for being, and the inner beauty is no exception. If one discovers that he or she has inner beauty, it follows that he or she has a chance to be beautiful, and beauty thus can be known.
However, for some reason, many people do not feel beautiful is in the eye of the beholder, and thus they continue to suffer from low self-esteem and poor self-image. It is these who claim that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So if you are one of those who do not believe that you are beautiful, try to see yourself objectively. Only then will you begin to see yourself objectively – to a point where you can make rational arguments about why you don’t feel you are beautiful.