Beauty (Dutton)

The moment in which I am reflecting on is from the Dutton lecture on beauty. The following is a phrase in which I felt I reacted the most while watching the video.

“The experience of beauty is one component in a whole series of Darwinian adaptations. Beauty is an adaptive effect which we extend and intensify in the creation and enjoyments of works of art and entertainment.”

When I first watched this video, I was set back a little when he said this. I come from a science background and never really considered how evolution could not only change us in a physical way, but also in a mental and psychological way. At first, I was against that this could be true; that everything that I believed was beautiful wasn’t actually me thinking that but rather years and years of “Darwinism adaptations” engraved into my brain. I didn’t like thinking that everything I liked wasn’t “controlled” by me. This kind of thought un-individualizes me as to what I think is beautiful. After watching it again though, I found myself understanding it more. I thought about other things we find “beautiful” besides the teardrop shape. I started to question myself “Why do I like this?” and most of the time, I really didn’t know. If I don’t know, it has to be something in my brain telling me so. It must be able to be explained by science somehow. I think it makes sense that beauty is one component of Darwinian adaptations. It just seems so odd at first because when thinking of Darwinism, beauty is not something that is thought of. I value knowledge and science, and, if something is able to be explained by science, I will believe it. Not because I want to, but because there are facts and proof of it. Dutton may be talking about beauty, but by using science and evolution theory, I found him speaking to those values in me and making more sense out of what he was saying.

What Dutton is saying in his lecture is very much acting out the 'science wars'. He is using evolution as an explanation for our human nature in a way. The way we think and view things is a part of us, and now it can be explained by science. This is much like what Pinker is saying in “The Blank Slate” as well. He is arguing that human nature is in our genes. With both Dutton’s and Pinker’s views, those who are “against” these science views hear what they have to say and get very frustrated because they don’t want to be defined in this way. The stakes in this ‘war’ are very high. Science is very valuable and provides knowledge whether it’s in biology or medicine. To think that science is questioned to be wrong is a scary thought. I care about this because I am an engineer and my life has essentially been built around science and facts. It is something I am very passionate about. Everyone should care though. Just because someone may not come from a science background doesn’t mean that science isn’t true or that they can’t understand the facts. I believe the narrative used to make sense on science and to communicate it to others is what was caused this ‘science war’.