The Truth Behind Why Beauty Lies In The Eyes Of The Beholder
Everyone Has Different Experiences Of What Shape Their Personal Preference
As the saying goes, “Beauty Lies In The Eyes Of The Beholder.” It’s a phrase as old as time and any intelligent individual knows that people tend to have a difference of opinion on what can be deemed aesthetically pleasing. Beauty is subjective. An abstract notion. What’s enticing to the eyes of one person may be ordinary or even ugly to another. For example, the way we dress & style our hair or what books we like to read all differ from one person to the next. It all depends on individual taste. However, there are some things that pretty much everyone thinks of as beautiful. For instance, a field of flowers, a childs smile, sunsets and starry night skies.
BUT HAVE TOU EVER WONDERED WHY?
Why, exactly, does beauty lie in the eye of the beholder? What makes for the difference in opinion? Has it always been an abstract notion or was there ever a time when all the land undoubtedly thought the same things were optically alluring and others simply were not? Furthermor, where’d the saying come from anyway?
THE DEFINETION OF THE WORD
You’ll find in any lexicon the word Beauty can be defined in the dictionary as “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).”
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE
According to Wikipedia, it originated back in 1878, found in a novel by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton called Molly Bawn. Yet, there’s other reporting’s of its first appearance in the 3rd century BC in Greek. When we use the phrase, what we’re trying to say “What you find attractive, I don’t, and that’s ok.”We’re trying to make a point that there should be a lot of room for diversity in the disagreement around aesthetics. We don’t feel comfortable about asserting the advantage of any one style or approach over the other. It implies an acute sensitivity to conflict and a fear of being rude or mean to others: what we’re affectively doing is stating that nothing is ever really more beautiful than anything else.
THE BACKSTORY OF “THE BEHOLDERS”
The phrase “Beauty Lies In The Eye Of The Beholder” originally came to be as a shield of protection against snobbery. This proverb helped in assisting the rights of ordinary people to follow their interests at a time when high-handed experts held the cultural reins and tried to shape taste with a snotty kind of authority. These experts told people what to like and outside opinions where obsolete. The phrase “Beauty Lies In The Eyes Of The Beholder” was a defense against intolerance. It meant something like “Stop trying to bash me into submission. My preferences are my personal choice and I can think & feel how I want, thank you very much.”
WELL ACCORDING TO SCIENCE . . .
The real question here is whether the beholder’s opinion is inherent or acquired overtime. For decades, scientists have hypothesized whether this is etched in our genes or a product of our environment. What makes us unique and interesting as individuals is our diversity, and this includes our varied ideas about what constitutes physical attractiveness. Research, indeed, does suggests that a preference for specific traits may be etched in our genes, but a new study has discovered that our specific life experiences are what determines how we find one face more exquisite than the other. While there is evidence that people with symmetric features are preferred as partners, it’s interesting to find that facial symmetry is associated with parasite resistance. Anywho. On to the next paragraph.
BEAUTY IS IN “THE EYE OF EVERYTHING”
If only you’d take a look around. It’s something we as humans are hardwired to appreciate. Beauty is everywhere. Its in things like the superlative symmetry of a human face and in the way a flower has seemingly perfect petals. Although, don’t take it at face value. Beauty is more than skin deep, it extends itself. This charming little concepts effect reaches far beyond the optical allure. Beauty can be heard. In the way certain harmonies sound or when we listen to someone speaking a foreign language and finding their accent attractive. We feel it too, like when see a child, embedded with deep empathy, care for a bird who’s broken it’s wing. It is an expression of who we are. Although beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, there are some things that are universally true. A kind heart, a gentle soul, and a generous spirit are all qualities of someone truly lovely. Its about what the heart feels.
No one single person can dictate what beauty means to another. It’s a universal understanding, completely individualized. While there’s a vast array and wide variety of types, beauty can be found in everything. Culture, expression, imperfection, and even mystery. The essence of appreciating beauty relies on the experience already stored in our mind. Our thoughts create our experiences. If it’s any constellation, we can see in this way essentially, Beauty is an essence of life. A smaller part of the larger whole.
