The Science of Aesthetics

[xSilverPhinx]

Putting cultural interpretations of beauty aside, it seems to be that there are certain qualities in nature which we interpret as beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. based on what we evolved to appreciate for some reason or another.

Two examples:

Geometry - the golden ratio, symmetry, perfect shapes and elegant mathematical relations which architects use in designing beautiful and 'balanced' buildings.  

Music - I don't know enough about music to point out exactly what it is in theory that makes music beautiful and I know people have different tastes, but there I know enough to say that based on broad but defined parameters there is a difference between 'music' and 'noise'.

[proofplease]

There is a very well structured ebook which, through a very realistic satire very subtlety demonstrates the holes in religion and particularly the afterlife. It has gone over the heads of many religious people who have read it as they thought it was actually true. They thereby completely miss the point. Anyway, everyone should check it out. Last time I saw it was free. google Doe's Account.

[Whitney]

There is a very well structured ebook which, through a very realistic satire very subtlety demonstrates the holes in religion and particularly the afterlife. It has gone over the heads of many religious people who have read it as they thought it was actually true. They thereby completely miss the point. Anyway, everyone should check it out. Last time I saw it was free. google Doe's Account.

what does this have to do with aesthetics...am i missing something?

[Faradaympp]

Beauty is an abstract human construct, it does not exist anywhere but in our minds,

Can you support that assertion?

Modern art is a good indicator, personally I find many pieces of modern art shamelessly lazy in their(the artists) construction, however on trips to such galeries I hear many people gushing over these works as though they were seeing the Mona Lisa. It doesn't matter what each of us thinks but that we think different things is enough. A more concrete example could be the difference in people's taste in women, historically women were chosen for various caracteristics that would make them more likely to produce children. In the colonial days women with a large body mass were desirable since they would retain more heat, also the attraction to women with larger breasts could be explained by the assumption that these women could better nourish a baby. This scenario is not intended to be sexist but it is a fact that throughout history it has been men who chose their wife/mate depending on characteristics. Nowadays these needs have dissapeared and people can now choose a wife/mate according to their own personnal desires. Although it's also possible that beauty is subjective from generation to generation and just as moral values they can change according to the times.