What is beauty? A contemplation part 1: primal origins and function

                                    

                

When you see beautiful things, what do you feel? Can you describe what you are experiencing in exact words? Perhaps you would describe what you're feeling as appreciation, joy, or satisfaction. 

You have likely perceived the thing you called beautiful as subjects of order. This is why you may have considered it beautiful. The thought of things fitting in together, working for a common purpose, may have awaken in you a feeling of delight.

And it's satisfying to see beautiful things isn't it? Have you ever wondered why? Going beyond appreciation of beautiful things, and considering our tendency to make a dichotomy between beauty and ugliness, I turn to my intuition, knowledge, and life experience as guides to help you answer this question.  

This week's post is the first of a two-part series featuring my written contemplation to answer the question: what is beauty?

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The primal origins of perceiving beauty

Le Moustier Neanderthals (1920) by Charles R. Knight 

Perceiving beauty, unlike how we understand it right now, was a primal function that our ancestors relied on to survive. For early humans, conception of beauty meant shaping a tool in perfect shape, just enough to defend themselves from threat of wild animals. 

Seeing beauty, for them, also meant seeing abundance. They will perceive a lush forest or grassland as beautiful, but at the same time-and more primarily-they're more likely to interpret it as an environment that will yield them plentitude. 

They will consider beautiful environments to have great potential for food and water reserves. And how it is also the case up to now, they'll find a mate that has beautiful proportions: the man or woman with orderly physical and sexual attributes will be the ones best suited for procreation. 

These point out that our ancestor's survival deeply hinges upon accustoming themselves to objects of beauty.

Beauty and Ugliness: A dichotomy that helped our ancestors thrive

I have mentioned that we often think in dichotomies of what's beautiful and what's ugly. And I have shared that we are primordially driven to acquaint ourselves with what's beautiful. Making a distinction between beauty and ugliness was crucial for our ancestors because, as we have explored, it meant life or death for them. 

To get a better understanding of what this means, let's consider the other side of the dichotomy. Let's talk about ugliness.

Photo by Andrea Ramirez on unsplash

Ugliness, by definition, is a perception of disorder. And as nature dictates it, our ancestors are wired to repulse themselves from things they find "ugly." 

Back in our ancestors' hunter-gatherer lifestyle, it was essential to make instinctive decisions. Fruits or mushrooms with "ugly" attributes meant they may be poisonous. Ugly savannahs and forests meant environments that humans are unlikely to survive and thrive in. It could expose them to risks. They may not find food there, or worse, it could be home to a predator that is what's exhausting the environment's resources. 

Biologically, ugliness is interpreted as having attributes that are unfit for life. 

Let's take finding a mate again as an example. When choosing a mate, our ancestors also have to make the same decision that they do when finding food or gauging an environment. They must make a distinction between mates that are beautiful (healthy; has good attributes) and those that are ugly (disorderly; lacking in survival attributes). 

Choosing a mate that is beautiful meant a chance for healthy procreation. Failing to choose a right partner on the other hand can endanger our kind's preservation.

Photo by Luca Bravo on unsplash

In essence, beauty, for our ancestors, is a sign of life. Our ancestor's thrived by accustoming themselves to the beautiful: the healthy and the pleasant. 

Perceiving ugliness, meaning disorder and unfitness for life, on the other hand, meant identifying things that are not conducive for their survival.  

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It must be noted that all these insights, so far, are in the context of our primal states. They are rooted in the pure survival of our species, specifically, of our living bodies. We humans have long developed and evolved since this primitive stage of our development. 

As we progressed as a specie, our conception of beauty progressed as well, becoming more nuanced and inclusive. Our interpretation, understanding, and perception of the role beauty plays in our lives has transgressed into our psychology and emotions. 

These are the contexts that we will relate the question of what is beauty, next.

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From the advent of our kind's cultivation of agriculture, we began to develop our psychological and cognitive faculties. 

Because we no longer have to periodically hunt-due to the abundance of food we have cultivated for ourselves through our domestication of livestock and raising of crops-we now had time for our "inner" needs. 

These needs are what we call our emotional needs and they include our psychological equilibrium, esteem, and need for self-expression. 

Photo by Milada Vigerova on unsplash

In these new set of needs, beauty gives us the same breath of life that we had during our primitive state. Though now, it's role is to be a medium that inspires our living. It imbues us with a higher drive for life that heals, enrich, and gives meaning to our otherwise, animal-like existence. 

Beauty enriches life experience

The famous Lascaux cave paintings in France-one of the earliest record of visual art-presents an early example of beauty's role in enriching our lives. At the same time, the painting is also a manifestation of mankind's psychological evolution. 

It's very creation is one of the moments in our history when we have learned to express ourselves through art. 

Paintings at Lascaux cave in France depicting bulls, horses and a stag

Why did early humans developed a desire to do this? Why paint your cave as if designing it and making it beautiful? Thinking about it from physical survival standpoint, it does not serve any function. It seems like a futile and meaningless act. 

The reason early humans did this is because have become aware of something more than their physical subsistence. Our drive as an evolved specie at this point extended beyond mere survival. We yearned to enrich our life experience. When our emotional awareness grew, we realized that we can't be solely living day to day in fear that we might be killed the next. 

In order to truly live, man developed the capacity to express himself, in whatever mediums that will serve him best. One of these mediums is art. 

The early man from the Lascaux cave painted to delight in creativity-and beauty-even though he might not be aware of his motive at the time. Basking himself in beauty, through art, comforted him from the toils of living. It mythologized his existence and smoothened out his hardened feelings brought by his constant struggle for survival. 

Beauty gave him emotional comfort, it brought inspiration and allowed him to elevate his life's relevance amidst the hostile environment that he inhibits. 

Above: Sistine Chapel Paintings (The creation of Adam and The fall of  man)
Below: Modern Murals (Radiant Madonna by Owen Dippie and Mt. Rushmore of art by Eduardo Kobra)

And we are still drawn to doing the same thing today, though our canvas has changed from cave walls into the ceilings of our cathedrals and the facades of our buildings. 

From the darkness of our primitive dwellings, we have gone out and transformed the world into a big museum that showcases our artistic expression. Besides paintings, we now have sculptures, films, music, fashion, literature, and other myriads of artforms that are open for us to appreciate. 

We are in the golden age of seeing and appreciating beauty through the world's artworks. 

Photo by Mika Baumeister on unsplash

Though we have long developed from the man who painted in the Lascaux cave, our shared human essence remains the same. 

We need art as much as our caveman ancestors even in our modern business-driven society. The seeking and creation of beautiful things continues to uplift our esteem, give us emotional comfort, and enrich our human condition. 

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As mankind delved into the cognitive revolution, we became less instinctive. It was as if a dividing line between our being a mere animal into being a thinking man, was drawn when reason rose at the forefront of our affairs. 

We have learned to break through the mental confines of survival and came to ask questions about our very existence. Mankind labeled this curious inquiry as Philosophy: an effort to understand reality's design and nature through our intellect. Whilst also considering insights from Spirituality, together, they are the subjects that we will relate the question of what is beauty, next. 

Next week, in this post's second part, we will think about beauty in the context of why it exists rather than what it can do for us.