The Transcendental Perfection: Beauty
Beauty is also known as pulcrum. It is a transcendental perfection, which results from esse or the act of being. There are different degrees of being, the vegetative life (plants), the sentient life (animals) and the rational life (human persons); beauty’s variety and richness depends on the different degrees of being.
Beauty has different levels depending on the subject from which it transcends; intelligible beauty directly is attached to the spiritual life and the sense perceptible beauty is applied to things, which attracts our sense, especially our hearing and seeing.
There are different types too, natural beauty which comes from the nature of beings, therefore we can say a woman is beautiful naturally in her femininity and rationality; and artificially when she starts further enhancing her beauty through make-up, dressing and exercise, and a painting is artificially beautiful in so far as it is painted artificially by human hands.
The Unity Of Beauty And Goodness
A special type of goodness is beauty because it gives rise to a special delight by simply being known. The sensible appetite comes into play when it feels the aesthetic appreciation and delight. It is the contemplation of the beauty of the object not on its possession. Beauty is pleasing to the will or sense appetites simply by being known by the senses or the intellect.
The Foundation Of Beauty Lies In Perfection
The foundation of beauty lies in the perfection of the desired object; things are pleasing because they are beautiful. Therefore whether or not there are men or women who are capable of appreciating a beauty, the perfection still resides in the object and thus beautiful. This perfection is from the act of being, the fullness, and absolute Beauty. Read more…
April 23rd, 2010 by admin in Beauty | Comment (1)

