Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n <\/span>\n

Out of all the transcendentals which philosophy has identified, Beauty remains one of the most mysterious. Despite the fact that every individual has experienced the phenomena of beauty, a metaphysical analysis of beauty is mired with obscurities, further cementing its inscrutability. I believe that these difficulties can be overcome and that the mystery can be unveiled, but that this can only be done through a comprehensive reevaluation of the definition, structure, essence, and importance of beauty. First, I will attempt to expose the flaws in philosophical conceptions of beauty thus far and instead posit a novel definition. Then, I will explicate the metaphysical structure of beauty in its relation to truth, followed by a discussion on the nature of beauty and the debate on the illusory objective-subjective divide. Finally, I will outline the importance of this shift in perspective regarding beauty and the implications it has on existential, philosophical, and pedagogical beliefs and approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\n

Problems with traditional definitions of beauty<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n <\/span>\n\nThe definitions of beauty provided by philosophers have traditionally centered on beauty as \u201charmony\u201d or \u201cunity.\u201d Aristotle, building off of Plato\u2019s Theory of Forms, defines beauty as a property existent within objects: \u201cThe chief forms of beauty are order and symmetry and definiteness, which the mathematical sciences demonstrate in a special degree.\u201d^{[1]<\/sup><\/a>Aristotle, Metaphysics<\/em>, 107a<\/sup> 36; Translated by David Ross<\/span><\/span>}