This article is the first in a three-part series on beauty. Click here to read the second article, Discovering the Standard of Beauty.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a popular phrase that is widely held as being true. It’s used to defend one’s artistic choices, combat negative body image, and critique works of art. You’ve probably used it yourself at least once in your life. But despite its popularity, I believe the phrase is not only wrong—it’s dangerous.
First, what does the saying even mean? This saying claims that beauty is a subjective issue. Since everybody is entitled to their own opinion, you should agree to disagree. We shouldn’t put down another person’s view of beauty, because the judgment of beauty is subjective—not objective. It’s a polite way to avoid an argument.
So far, it all seems good. We are avoiding conflict and building up one another’s views. However, there are two reasons why this phrase is actually far more insidious than you think. The Importance of Beauty
What does “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” actually communicate? Though you may avoid an intense argument through it, this phrase actually implies that the aesthetics of whatever you’re arguing about are on the same level as each other. It conveys that nothing is more beautiful than something else. That is a very bad position to be in. This view downgrades the importance of beauty. If everything is equally beautiful, then nothing is. Once aesthetics becomes an unimportant factor, the value of beauty is lost. And beauty is important.
Many would argue that beauty isn’t as important as, say, truth or morality. I believe we could all see how, even with a nihilistic worldview, truth gives us stability and morality gives us order (although both truth and morality go much farther than that). How truth and morality contribute to our lives gives a good indication to how important it is. Let’s apply that to beauty. How does beauty contribute to our lives? Well, without it life would be dull and bland. However, beauty gives life more than vibrancy and color. Beauty gives us pleasure. And even though one could say we, as human beings, all want pleasure, the word “pleasure” still seems trite compared to how marvelous beauty can be. At its finest, beauty is breathtaking and awe-inspiring, full of grandeur and magnificence. Beauty gives us a sense of some divine order. Who can say beauty isn’t valuable? So, in a sense, we should embrace that inevitable argument about what is more beautiful. Intelligent discussions about beauty are essential to keeping the issue of aesthetics alive. Because whenever you take a stand, you’re communicating that what you believe is important. And when you debate about the beauty of art or music or whatever it may be, you’re saying, “I believe beauty is a valuable thing.” Is Beauty Subjective?
Devaluing beauty is a serious error, and the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” implies that beauty doesn’t matter. However, I believe the entire statement is wrong—not just its implications. I believe beauty itself is not subjective.
First of all, nobody believes beauty is totally subjective. Claiming “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is grander than Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is absurd. Arguing for the Mona Lisa to be taken away and replaced with a five-year-old’s scribbles is a ridiculous request. Replacing a gorgeous skyline with a stinking trash heap won’t go over well at all. However, just that has happened in the art world. Because of adopting the viewpoint that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” examples of modern works of “art” include a single line of white across a blue canvas, splotches of randomly tossed paint, and a white square over a white background. Even worse is the acceptance of performance art in which people perform bizarre acts to make an audacious statement. When looking at what is now deemed art, you cannot help but say that one’s concept of beauty has been distorted. The examples above are dealing with the far ends of the spectrum. But even if two works of art are close in quality, we still shouldn’t resort to a relativistic point of view. Striving to discern which one is better will help maintain a standard of excellence. We, as a society, will not lose our ability to create and appreciate the beautiful. But there is also a greater reason for defending the objectivity of beauty. The Purpose of Beauty
When you use a secular worldview, beauty should still be judged objectively because our standard of beauty will regress if viewed subjectively. The only thing at risk is society’s criteria for what is beautiful and what isn’t. This is still an honorable goal. We should aim for objectivity when judging beauty, because we need that objective standard.
However, for the Christian, this battle is even more important, because beauty isn’t just something that makes us happy and fills us with awe. It makes us aware of the divine. Beauty in this world points us to the beauty of God. When we gaze upon the splendor of nature, we marvel at God. Even the works of man should lead us to glorify the ultimate Creator. Beauty grabs our attention and turns our faces toward something greater than ourselves. With this point in mind, how can we claim that beauty is subjective? If God deems something ugly and we see it as beautiful, how can we argue against him? If beauty is meant to reflect God’s beauty, then we should be willing to let God declare what is beautiful—not us. He is the only objective judge, and He is the perfect standard of beauty. Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is in the eye of the one and only Beholder.
This article is the first in a three-part series on beauty. Click here to read the second article, Discovering the Standard of Beauty.
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2 Comments
Eliese Gulley
6/22/2017 07:56:55 pm
I usually don't read longer articles like this. I usually skim them to get the basic idea. I'm so glad I read this one through all the way. You have some very good points and it's very well written.
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Mark Kamibaya
6/25/2017 05:17:12 am
Glad you liked it, Eliese! I am still trying to make my articles shorter, but I'm happy you weren't bothered by the length.
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About MarkI create stories and lift things up and put them down. All for the glory of God. Archives
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