23/9/2015

Assignment Number - 1
Chandrika Nath
3-B ,SSAA

Why is beautiful important ?

Beauty is a quality present in a living or non living entity that gives intense pleasure
or deep satisfaction to the mind , whether arising from sensory manifestations like
shape , colour , smell, sound etc , or a meaningful design or pattern or spiritual
qualities . Beauty is the source of attraction and gratification that leads to
contentment within the person viewing it .
But in order to understand what beauty exactly is , Philosophically, we may say that
the proportion in which the Infinite, or the Absolute, as the highest universal, is
visualized in any particular thing will decide the extent of beauty which that thing
evokes. It is the universality involved in the particular that is the source of beauty
and the sense of perception. In the perception of beauty, the processes involved are
the perceiving mind, the act of perception and the object itself. The question arises,
whether the object can be considered to be beautiful even if there is no one to
perceive it. We may perhaps, in a way, concede that beauty and perfection do not
require somebody to know them, since the flower and the moon and the charming
face of a child can remain beautiful even if there is no one to see them
Beauty presents a standard of comparison, and it can cause resentment and
dissatisfaction when not achieved. People who do not fit the "beauty ideal" may be
ostracized within their communities. Hence the foremost importance of beauty is to
achieve the state of self satisfaction and contentment.
In the humanities and social sciences, it is widely accepted that beauty is socially
constructed according to time and space. In the sciences, it is argued that certain
features are biologically more aesthetically pleasing than others across time and
space. We are constantly confronted with beauty about its presence , absence ,
merits , demerits etc.
Traditionally, beauty was a quality that aroused in a viewer what artists, art critics,
and art historians referred to as the higher feelings. There was general agreement
in society as well as to what the higher feelings were. They were feelings which
seemed to arouse in an individual a sense that there was more to reality and his life
than what could be found in his daily surroundings and normal feelings and

concerns. This special sense formed by beauty was related to religion which art
originated from.
The definition of "beauty" has been manipulated by history within many different
countries. This definition has evolved over time. During the European Renaissance
between the 14th and 17th centuries, certain traits such as high foreheads,
voluptuous figures, and pale skin were considered beautiful but today dusky
complexions, high cheekbones or dimple cheeks are considered to be beautiful by
people.
There is a slight difference in people find actually beautiful and what they state to
be beautiful . The statements made by people are more an outcome of blind
following. People start considering the current trends and fashion beautiful . As a
result beautiful objects keep losing their individuality and gets dominated by copied
trends.

What is ugly ?
If beauty lies in the eye of the beholder , so does ugliness . Ugliness is the anonym
of the word beauty ,hence can be defined as the quality that gives an unpleasant
experience to the person experiencing it .
Ugliness is something that is a source of aversion . It can be dependent on all the
five senses . Some things might me ugly to see, hear ,touch, smell and taste .
Generally universally stated ugly things are considered to be ugly without genuine
logic or understanding.
For example : The peacock feet , surely there are more ugly things present in the
world but just as a matter of fact , the peacocks feet are considered to be ugly .
Ugliness also rises due to comparison. Some objects might not be as ugly but on
comparison with very beautiful things , they are stated to be ugly .
For Instance : The peahen is not a very ugly bird , but just because it is compared
with her male counterpart , the peacock it is considered to be very ugly.
In reality ugly is something that one cant withstand , and has a negative effect , but
half of the things in our world that are stated to be ugly are not actually ugly in
real , but not as pleasing .