Aesthetic Judgment and Beauty

Beauty is defined by Webster as “the beauty of the countenance”. This definition is highly subjective and depends greatly on the person choosing to use the word. Beauty is often associated with feelings or sentiments, and is often thought to be the result of human physical attractiveness. Beauty is also commonly defined as a physical trait of particular objects, which makes these objects aesthetically pleasurable to see. These objects may include sunsets, landscapes, beautiful humans and exquisite works of art.

Beauty, with beauty and art, is an extremely important part of twentieth century culture. Art lovers throughout the world have fought for years to display the beauty of things around them in a way that pleases their aesthetic senses. The twenty-first century will probably witness a new struggle even more intense than that between beauty and art. The twenty-first century will probably see the struggle between what the beholder sees as beauty and what another person deems to be beauty. Beauty will come into conflict with other ideals, especially since the ability to create and beautify will become one of our most competitive endeavors.

Aesthetics and beauty are strongly linked, however. People who feel beautiful pay more attention to what they think is beautiful. People who feel ugly pay more attention to what they do not see. Beauty, unlike art, is not judged according to what an aesthetic sees as beautiful but as what a true judge or beholder sees as beautiful. In fact, beauty is seen as the result of an inner experience that many people call “intuition”. Aesthetics and beauty therefore are closely related, even if many believe they are independent values.