On the Subject of Beauty

After debating this issue with my cousins, this is my final verdict and is what I'm handing in to my Professor.

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Objective vs. Subjective Beauty

Beauty, according to Dr. Stephen Marquardt, a former plastic surgeon, is found in a mask he designed, comprised of an arrangement of 40 golden decagons of six different sizes and in the "golden ratio" of 1.618-to-1 (tlc.discovery.com). Dr. Marquardt says that "beauty is a mechanism to ensure humans recognize and are attracted to other humans," and because his mask is in the form of the "golden rectangle"-a shape that is easily recognized-it is "the most beautiful shape a human face can have" (Jones). If Dr. Marquardt's theory is to taken as truth, it stands to reason that beauty must be absolutely objective which is, in fact, in direct opposition to the old proverb which says, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." While it is true that humans find shapes which are easily recognized attractive and therefore beautiful, that shape does not necessarily have to be in the "golden ratio" to be considered the most beautiful. In fact, what humans find to be attractive and beautiful is just as diverse as the very nature of a diverse humanity, i.e., beauty is equally as subjective as it is objective.

Recognition of the familiar is a key element of Dr. Marquardt's beauty theory. While it cannot be denied that humans with a face in the shape of his particular mask are indeed beautiful, could it not also be argued that a mother's face-no matter what physical defects it may have or how old it is- is just as beautiful to her child? Who is to say that beauty must be contained within a "golden ratio"? Beauty cannot be contained within a tidy little "box," for to do so would defy the very nature of beauty itself.

The issue then is not what shape is the most beautiful but rather what qualifies as beauty to the beholder. True beauty goes beyond shapes and sizes and is found instead in the intangible things in life. It is found, not in the equation of a golden ratio, but rather in the equation of the human experience. While every object or person contains an element of objective beauty, i.e., beauty contained within the object itself, it is, however, the subjective quality of beauty that supercedes the physical beauty--every time. The more familiar a person becomes with the object-whether it be a painting or a person's face-the more beautiful it will become as it is integrated into that person's life experiences.

Clearly then, while the subjective quality of beauty builds off of the objective, beauty itself truly is perceived by the beholder. One's ability to see the lovely in the unlovely, however, is, in fact, the most important aspect of all. The person who sees and is attracted to surface beauty only and discards those things or people found to be unattractive at first glance should be unduly reminded that this is merely a reflection of his/her own inner quality of beauty. After all, objective beauty lasts but for a season, but subjective beauty lasts a lifetime.

-K. S.