Beauty and the Beast: An Essay in Evolutionary AestheticMcDowall, Stewart Andrew
Religion
Beauty and the Beast: An Essay in Evolutionary Aesthetic
McDowall, Stewart Andrew
Aesthetics
Now we have argued that beauty is most probably associated initially
with sex, since with sex the idea of personal relationship first
arises. Our main thesis would not however be invalidated if it could be
shown that a vague intuition of relation with inorganic or non-personal
objects arose first. The intuition of relation may well have several
separate starting points. Only, in this case, the reciprocal element
would be absent (though its lack might not be felt except as a vague
dissatisfaction) and could only arise when the sex-relation was the
subject of a similar intuition. But most likely the intuition of
relation did arise with sex, and, since our argument is concerned to
show that ultimately the intuition of beauty leads to the expression
of mutual relationship--love--and finds there the explanation both of
its peculiar quality, and of the creative longing it produces, we will
confine our argument mainly to this aspect.
Now if this be so, the sense of beauty is likely to be associated in
its earliest stages with sight, and only in a secondary degree with
sound, in the mating-call and in the beginnings of language. This is
borne out by the fact that music usually lags behind, and is more
primitive in expression than the visual arts--personal ornamentation
and even decoration of objects. True, the first formal _expression_
is likely to be in sound--in the beginnings of language. The dynamic
relation between persons maybe accompanied and expressed throughout by
speech. But at this primitive level it will be a very limited intuition
or understanding that is expressed, and moreover, an intuition that
is based on visual stimuli. We may therefore leave the question of
language for the present. Its importance in the earlier stages is
mainly practical. Through sight (when the stage of simple chemiotaxis
is passed) arises the perception of desirability in the opposite
sex[37], which is the animal starting-point from which love is evolved.
This desirability and this relation are expressed to the self, and
this expression is beauty in its humblest beginning. Then, later, the
creative aspect enters into consciousness. At first it was satisfied,
unconsciously, in mating; but soon this unconscious satisfaction is
felt to be inadequate. The representative process begins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account