Denis Dutton, a philosopher of art, gave the speech A Darwinian Theory of Beauty at Ted Talks. He speaks extensively about what is beauty is and how our vision of what is beautiful has been culturally and biologically programmed in our minds since the beginning of mankind. While beginning by stating beauty is a very passionate topic of his, he notes that it is also a very complex topic since the things we consider to be beautiful are all so different. Although most people would say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Dutton argues that beauty is in the culturally conditioned eye of the beholder. Music, movies, paintings, and sceneries are all things every culture agrees is beautiful despite their differences. When proposing how this universality can be explained Dutton uses the Darwinian theory as an example. He examines our prehistoric aesthetic and artistic preferences. Our
pleasurable experience with beauty can only be derived from our evolved human psychology. Due to our psyche, natural selection and sexual selection are what form our definition of beauty. Dutton then vividly describes a beautiful savannah landscape, the kind you see everywhere from doctor's offices to postcards all across the globe. This pull toward the appearance of the landscape is because this is where we evolved as humans, therefore its almost inviting us in. This proves that every culture is intrigued by an inviting visual experience.
Since some people might say that a savannah landscape is only an example of natural beauty, Dutton explores artistic beauty as well. As an example, he explains how the hand axel was created over 100,000 years before language yet was so popular. Due to its convenient tear drop shape and convenience it was seen as aesthetic and a status booster for those who had one. This was the oldest artistic tradition in history because it was seen as beautiful. Dutton concludes with explain how the next time you're in the mall and see tear drop shaped diamond earrings in the window its your biological intuition attracting you to them, not your preference. Our powerful automatic reaction to things we are programmed by our ancestors to view as beautiful will continue for as long as the human race shall exist.
pleasurable experience with beauty can only be derived from our evolved human psychology. Due to our psyche, natural selection and sexual selection are what form our definition of beauty. Dutton then vividly describes a beautiful savannah landscape, the kind you see everywhere from doctor's offices to postcards all across the globe. This pull toward the appearance of the landscape is because this is where we evolved as humans, therefore its almost inviting us in. This proves that every culture is intrigued by an inviting visual experience.Since some people might say that a savannah landscape is only an example of natural beauty, Dutton explores artistic beauty as well. As an example, he explains how the hand axel was created over 100,000 years before language yet was so popular. Due to its convenient tear drop shape and convenience it was seen as aesthetic and a status booster for those who had one. This was the oldest artistic tradition in history because it was seen as beautiful. Dutton concludes with explain how the next time you're in the mall and see tear drop shaped diamond earrings in the window its your biological intuition attracting you to them, not your preference. Our powerful automatic reaction to things we are programmed by our ancestors to view as beautiful will continue for as long as the human race shall exist.
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