Is beauty an intrinsic good?
By Leah Patterson <coco_c_007@hotmail.com>
Is beauty an intrinsic good? My answer would have to be yes. In order to simplify a bit, I won't address the question of what is beautiful because that could produce as many different answers as people in the world. We'll work on the old saying that beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder.
During my lifetime, I have seen and heard many beautiful things. Sunrises over an ocean vista; an enormous, but airy, cathedral as light filters through countless stained glass windows; a haunting refrain from a song I can't quite get out of my mind. I'd qualify all of these as beautiful and say that, by their basic design, these are all good things. But not everyone would agree that beauty is an intrinsic good. Music, one of man's most expressive art forms, was at one time seen only as a medium for the expression of devotion and worship of God. Monks would often do heavy penance because they got caught up in the melodies of the music and forgot to concentrate solely on what the words were saying. They claimed that the beauty of the music had led them astray. Now, of course, it is nothing to be swept up by an enchanting musical composition. I must admit I'm guilty of this every day of my life.
Art is another area where beauty prevails, but some of the potentially most beautiful art works are also some of the most controversial. One of my favorite artists is Olivia de Berardinis. She works solely with female nudes. Her works have been condemned as lascivious, pornographic, and all the other terms that those with conservative views choose to use to castigate such boldness. I, and others who have seen her work, view the paintings as wonderously beautiful. Her drawings show women at their most powerful, and certainly most alluring. They celebrate the basic beauty of the human form and spirit.
Beauty, in conclusion, is an intrinsic good in my opinion. No doubt, there are those who have used beauty in one form or another for harm, but that doesn't mean that the medium itself is bad. To submit a comment, click here.
Gina Baker <Daphine10@hotmail.com>I think that your paper was intresting. Although I think that you should have defined intrinsic good, becasue if the other two papers had not defined it then some people might not have known what it meant. But your paper was very good and well thought out.
Michael T Tucker <tuckerm@greenwood.net>You are right, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Brian Bearden <bbearden@student.lander.edu>You provided good support for your paper. Beauty can lie in anything, it is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty doesn't have to soley physical, it can be anything which connects with your soul.
Anna C. Nance <eirendel@yahoo.com>A very well written and well supported paper.
Amy Young <bbfhyoung@yahoo.com>How, if beauty is an intrinsic good, can it be used in a harmful way? I liked how you gave many examples of what beauty is to you. Well written as well.
Rachel Crowe <rcrowe@usa.net>You are very confident persuasive in your answer. I agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Matthew Knight <mknight_dsb@hotmail.com>Very well written paper. You should have defined intrinsic good.
Chun Yeung <jane1227@yahoo.com>I certainly agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Tom Lundis <Kman26@hotmail.com> Well written paper, nice examples. I believe that true beauty is indeed an intrinsic good, but would probably argue with many people what that is. I suppose that is why you left out any discussion on what beauty is. =/
Demetri <dandrews92@hotmail.com>I agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your paper is also well written.
Jamie Meadows <riojeepgrl>You definitly are passionate in your position, and we all tell each other that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, just as everything could beautiful, couldn't some of everything be "bad."
Nick Hart <hart125@hotmail.com>Beauty is certainly whatever u make of it!
Tim Andrews <tandrews@emeraldis.com>If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then this would mean that this "medium" is without form, and therefore cannot be judged good or bad on a consistent basis.
Michelle Komski <michellekomski@hotmail.com>I agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Your paper was well written. I like that you explored many ways beauty can be seen.
jennifer lester <lesterjennifer>i agree.
Due Date <3-27-00>Formal comments completed.
Nichole Sanders <snk79@hotmail.com>To me beauty is not an intrinsic good. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What someone else finds to be beauty may not agree with what I believe to be beauty.
Russell Martin <rangjung21@hotmail.com>Very well written. I enjoyed the middle paragraph emmencely. This is a very beautiful peace of writing.
Due Date <3-27-00>Formal Comments Completed