Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Must We Justify Everything?
So as I replied to the post "justifying beauty," I though again like I did in class, why do we have to justify everything. Is it the fast pace world or is it the need for worth? I sometimes don't get why we don't just accept what is here and not pick every piece of it to death. Why can't the flower just be a flower. Why must it serve a purpose set in stone? I think the beauty of the tulip or flowers in general are different than the apple's sweetness. The apple has always been and always will be something sugary sweet, maybe not the red delicious but one of them. Yes, its not a candy bar but no one can deny the fact that domestic apples are sweet, even granny smiths have some sweetness after you get past the sourness. Any ways, what I am asking is why you think we feel everything must have a telos? Can the tulips telos be simple enjoyment or does it have to serve a bigger purpose than eye candy. I wanted to mention the carrion flower too. It was the flower in the reading that smelled like a rotting carcass. While it may have an awful smell, it too is a pretty impressive looking flower. A little hairy yes, but even it has beautiful symmetry, color and variation. How does the carrion flower fit into the picture? Is it any different. Most of the reading was about color and symmetry. I don't remember reading anything about smell. Can something still be beautiful but smell bad? Is smell something that should be added on to the "definition" of beauty?
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I am not sure if a bad smelling thing could be considered beautiful (maybe only from a distance…). It seems to me that it would be unlikely. The reason I say this is because humans have evolved over time to avoid unpleasant smells, largely because disease causing bacteria often accompany strong odors. Primitive humans that avoided the rotting (and smelly) carcasses of dead animals or other humans had an evolutionary advantage over those who were somewhat more curious since they were less likely to contract a lethal disease or debilitating infection. Since beauty is, in part, an evolutionary behavior, it follows that humans probably won’t view a bad smelling object as beautiful. However, since we have determined that the idea of beauty can change over time, I suppose no one can definitively say that past preferences will continue in the future.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I consider beauty to be an emotion that requires the use of all the senses. As such, since I don’t particularly enjoy bad smells, I don’t think that I would find such an object beautiful.
To reply to your first concern, I am with you. I do not think everything must be on this earth for a set-in-stone reason. Perhaps they were at one point but not necessarily still today. Therefore a flower can just be a flower! With that said, there seems to be no getting around the fact that some things are beautiful and some are not. Some things have purpose and some seem to not so much. Who can say that objects are definitely beautiful or not? Who can say what an object's purpose is for sure? To stick with the flower theme, I think flowers are beautiful and a flower on Valentine's Day or at a wedding serves a purpose yet is not vital for human (or flower) survival. They still have a purpose, though.
ReplyDeleteAs for if something with a foul smell can be considered beautiful or not, I think it can be. I believe it all depends on an individual person's definition of beauty.