I struggle to get past the subjectivity of beauty ... don't think you're suggesting a universal concept that everybody agrees to ... Ala Plato hee hee
I think your statement about observation and memory being a great beauty copy activity is brilliant ... I can't relate all the times I just stood before some natural element (not human made) and just reveled in its beauty (both at the time and in memory) ... I was compelled to both observe (record) and recall (re-live) that beauty ... nice.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the reproduction in memory point. The urge to stare at beautiful things is so inexplicable but so so wonderful! The Scarry idea was *so* helpful to me on this front.
I don't mean to make any claims about beauty being objective, though. I certainly want to leave the possibility open for there to be different tastes regarding what is beautiful (for instance, I agree with you that natural elements are especially beautiful, but many people think otherwise. It feels weird to say that they are 'wrong'). All I think is necessary is that, when we take something to be beautiful, we relate to its beauty as something independent, almost like a higher power, that demands our respect and, maybe, replication. Whether it actually does this is less important, I think.
I struggle to get past the subjectivity of beauty ... don't think you're suggesting a universal concept that everybody agrees to ... Ala Plato hee hee
I think your statement about observation and memory being a great beauty copy activity is brilliant ... I can't relate all the times I just stood before some natural element (not human made) and just reveled in its beauty (both at the time and in memory) ... I was compelled to both observe (record) and recall (re-live) that beauty ... nice.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the reproduction in memory point. The urge to stare at beautiful things is so inexplicable but so so wonderful! The Scarry idea was *so* helpful to me on this front.
I don't mean to make any claims about beauty being objective, though. I certainly want to leave the possibility open for there to be different tastes regarding what is beautiful (for instance, I agree with you that natural elements are especially beautiful, but many people think otherwise. It feels weird to say that they are 'wrong'). All I think is necessary is that, when we take something to be beautiful, we relate to its beauty as something independent, almost like a higher power, that demands our respect and, maybe, replication. Whether it actually does this is less important, I think.
Beautifully written 👏