According to Denis Dutton, evolution can play a big role in why we mutually find things to be beautiful. During he talk, he brought up hand axes the Homo erectus and Homo ergaster made. They're too intact to have been used and too big to be practical. People argue that this is the evidence that even our ancestors valued art and displayed it like we do today. Ok, so maybe they found these hand axes beautiful a long time ago. But we've had plenty of time to evolve in our thinking and knowledge. So why do we still find this beautiful?
Dutton argues it's because of evolution. When we look at that hammer, we don't just admire the material it is made out of. We also admire the person who did the work. We see their intelligence, fine motor skills, planning ability, and conscientiousness. And through Darwin's viewpoints of evolution, no wonder we find it beautiful.
This point reminds me of our viewpoints of why we find slimmer, athletic people desirable. To our human brains, they are viewed as being healthy and with longevity: traits needed when selecting mates. Based on evolution, we find beauty in traits that will help us and our future generations succeed. A slim person will potentially live longer and help reproduce; we see that as "beautiful." Just as we see the admirable qualities needed to make hand axes. This idea is something that I agree with. I've realized my own thoughts have been found to revolve around finding beauty associated with traits I admire.
I do think there are a few flaws in this idea. And it's preferences. I have friends who love country music; a genre I hate with a passion. There's the episode of The Office where they argued if Hilary Swank was hot. There are things we find mutually beautiful based on evolution. However, that can't always account for why I hate country music or why Hilary Swank is a big controversy.
There can be many arguments on why beauty is beauty. "Beauty is the eye of the beholder." You can sit down and ponder why everyone loves viewing the mountains, but I think Darwin has a good point. From peacock feathers to A Starry Night, there was some important feature or skill used that we find beautiful.
I agree with what you have said about what traits we find desirable in others. We tend to find someone appearing to be healthy and slim as someone who could live a long time. I think there are flaws in this idea too. I also hate country music, but my dad loves it. This cannot be explained!
ReplyDeleteBut overall, when I think about myself and what I believe is beautiful, it is as simple as Dutton describes with the hand axes. Evolution has made us think skills and health as beautiful, and, at least in my own life, I find that to be true.