Did you know that Beauty has actually been widely researched as a topic by many (!) scholars? It’s actually something not too abstract to grasp – and George Santayana, a philosopher who lived in the 19th century, was one of the firsts who defied the assumption that beauty is something God-given and divine, it is actually something that can be explained psychologically. He wrote a whole book on how people are sensing the beautiful and called it “The Sense of Beauty – Being the Outline of Aesthetic Theory”. That sounds quite dry admittedly, but let me try to sum it up for you in some easier words. This is the first part on summing up Santayana’s work that might let you understand the beautiful, the beauty you see, hear, feel –sense—around you.

First of all… you are probably interested in art, right? If so, you probably have the ability to sense beauty! And yes, I call it ability because apparently not everyone in the world is able to do so and another truth is: there is, most probably, not a second person on this earth who senses the same beauty and who senses beauty the same way as you. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? The beauty you see and feel is entirely your own. It’s unique. Santayana does, as mentioned, reject the view that beauty is literally (!) God-given but is open to use God as a metaphor: beauty is a human experience but it is a gift nonetheless.

Beauty, in academics, is often called aesthetics (that’s why this work’s subtitle is “Being the Outline of Aesthetic Theory”) and to Santayana beauty is, to spoil it for you, objectified pleasure. Pleasure is something we experience in our inner life, a feeling of happiness and enjoyment, we project to objects (inanimate objects, animals, people, nature… you name it). The first sentence of his Introduction already says: “The sense of beauty has a more important place in life than aesthetic theory has ever taken in philosophy”. So, as a disclaimer...to study the sense of beauty is not nearly as important as feeling the sense of beauty. You don't have to understand what's going on in your inner life when you're simply able to experience that inner life. However, I will try to sum his studies up – maybe it wakes an interest in you. And it is okay to be both the “feeling” and the “thinking” type (aren’t we all?).

“The Sense of Beauty” is divided in four parts: 1. The Nature of Beauty, 2. The Materials of Beauty, 3. Form and 4. Expression. The next blog post will try to “teach” you something on part 1! Until then… keep your sense of beauty and remember: it’s a gift.