theory of beauty

THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY

History of the Science of BeautyTan Kok Hong . Lim Kia Mian . Wong RuiXiong


Defining Beautywhat is beauty? what are the theories of beauty?

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DEFINITION OF BEAUTY

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF BEAUTY?

“No particular definition”


DEFINITION OF BEAUTYDefinitions for reference

• Beauty (according to Oxford Dictionary)

Excelling in grace of form, charm of colouring, and other qualities, which delight the eye and call forth admiration:

a) of the human face and figureb) of other objects

• Beauty is a basic pleasure

• Beauty can be something intrinsic to object (color, form, and other qualities )or simply the pleasure an object evokes


FROM ANCIENT TIMES


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FROM ANCIENT TIMES


“Properties of beauty are the same, whether we are seeing a beautiful woman,

flower, landscape or circle.”

FROM ANCIENT TO CONTEMPORARY

http://www.askmen.com/women/galleries/celeb-profiles-actress/angelina-jolie/picture-5.html


Golden Ratiowhat is the golden proportion? why is it significant?

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GOLDEN RATIO• Ratio of the sum of the quantities to

the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one

• Ancient Greek mathematicians first studied it because of its frequent appearance in geometry

• Irrational mathematical constant,

• approximately 1.6180

• “Extreme and mean ratio" was the principal term used from the 3rd century BC until about the 18th century.

• Denoted by the Greek lowercase letter phi


GOLDEN RATIO

“VISUAL DEFINITION”


• Golden rectangle: side lengths are in golden ratio

• When a square section is removed, we find another golden rectangle. This pattern can be repeated infinitely.

• Corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic spiral with this property.

GOLDEN RATIO

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218

13

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GOLDEN RATIO: A History


GOLDEN RATIO: Architecture


GOLDEN RATIO: Art and Nature


Middle Ages and

Renaissance

Fits in with the idea of

perfection and

harmonyoverabundance of mystical

thinking, speculation and fiction

GOLDEN RATIO: Analysis

Food for Thought:Why did ancient philosophers and so many others support this idea? Is the Golden perfection real?


GOLDEN RATIO: Analysis


Lack of academic sources

Influence from the ancient Greeks and Renaissance period

Idea that the Golden Ratio was used in designing ancient

architecture dubious

Interesting mathematical

concepts

Unique aesthetic properties

GOLDEN RATIO: Analysis & Summary


Symmetrysymmetry as beauty? why is symmetry beautiful?

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SYMMETRY BY GREEKS AND ROMANS

Parthenon of Acropolis (Ancient Greece)

Pantheon of Rome (Roman Empire)

Trevi Fountain (Renaissance)Victorian-style pillars

• Symmetry is the foundation for numerous Greek and Roman architecture, continuing into the Renaissance


SYMMETRY: FACIAL SYMMETRY

96%


SIR FRANCIS GALTON

Sir Francis Galton (1811-1911)• half-cousin of Charles’ Darwin• Polymath, numerous contributions

to many scientific fields such asmeteorology, psychology, criminology

1876 - 1900: Composite Photography • projecting face photographs of many different

individuals onto a single piece of photographic film

• Galton’s colleagues noted that composites tended to be more attractive than the individual faces


COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPHY

Case for Eugenics• Eugenics: Nature NOT

Nurture determines a person’s eventual character and personality

• Identification of “typical criminal faces”

Led to further studies of facial averageness!


Study of Facial Averageness

• Numerous studies were conducted throughout the century BUT with advent of technology, greatly improved the studies

– 1886: Stoddard

– 1990: Psychologists Langlois and Roggman

– 2005: Imaging Researcher Pierre Tourigny

• Computer algorithms revealed that symmetry plays a big role in human faces

FACIAL AVERAGENESS


FACIAL AVERAGENESS

Caucasian males

Female celebrities

Caucasian females

Caucasian females


FACIAL AVERAGENESS

Composite of 60 faces

consistently over 90%


(1) symmetric individuals are attractive because they are particularly

healthy(2) averageness reflects

optimal design of physical traits by

nature

DIFFERING INTEPRETATIONS

human visual system favours processing

symmetric than asymmetric stimuli


Biological advances

and knowledge

Greek, Roman and Renaissance developmen

ts in architecture

Symmetry: Analysis

Technological innovations

(photography, computer

algorithms)

study of non-

scientific fields

(eugenics)


LIMITATIONS OF EXPLANATION

still

beautiful?


Proportionsproportion as beauty? what proportions are significant?

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92%

PROPORTIONALITY


• Studying of proportions really took off during the Renaissance

• Renaissance: the focus is back on HUMANS, THE HUMAN BODY

• Focus on aesthetics brought about numerous developments in the study of proportions that define humans

PROPORTIONALITY

“What do we identify visually

as human?”


ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS


MICHELANGELO


LEONARDO DA VINCI


FACIAL PROPORTIONALITY

Renaissance Period• Leonardo Da Vinci and

Michelangelo did extensive studies concerning the proportions of human face

• Formed the basis of aesthetic knowledge on human faces


BODY PROPORTIONALITY

Renaissance period

• Ideal height as having a head to body ratio of 1:8

• V-shaped torso

Recent research

• Men: a waist-to-shoulder ratio of 0.75 or lower are viewed as considerably more attractive


Proportionality


BEAUTIFICATIONMarquardt Beauty Mask• Dr. Stephen R. Marquardt• Retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon• Based on decagon structures

Female Mask Male Mask Side Profile


BEAUTY MASK

Marilyn MonroeDavid BeckhamMegan FoxAngelina Jolie


Artistic developmen

ts of Renaissance

Man

Renaissance focus on

Humans as SPECIAL

CREATION of God

Proportion: Analysis

New Anatomical studies

Architecture and

Aestheticspropelling Humanistic

studies


Evolutionary Beautywhat is the impact of evolution on beauty?

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• For nearly 2000 years, philosophers, artists and scientists have tried to explain beauty using mathematics.

WHY?

Darwinian Theory of Beauty

• Mathematical idea fits in a general way with platonic or religious ideas about origin of the world

• BUT, Measurement systems have failed to turn up a beauty formula!

• Another example how ideas of ancient philosophers have misguided later generations

• Darwin’s evolution theory led to paradigm shift from an emphasis on mathematics to biology


Darwin: Evolution of Beauty

1) Natural Selection

• Evolution or co-evolution of peculiar features give advantage to an organism, increasing chance of survival and reproduction

2) Sexual Selection

• Some physical qualities lure the other sex

e.g. Peacock’s tail that not only doesn’t helpwith but impedes survivability

• Beauty is important in arousing and sustaining interest or even obsession to allow people to make decisions to enhance survival or reproduction

EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE


• Beauty is nature’s way of acting at a distance

• Evolution’s trick is to make things beautiful, to make them exert a magnetism, and give one pleasuresimply by looking at them

• The experience of beauty is a component of a series of Darwinian adaptations

• Universality of our artistic and aesthetic taste can be explained by Darwinian theory of beauty

DARWINIAN APPROACH TO BEAUTY


UNIVERSALITY OF BEAUTY

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder?”

How about culture and media

influences?

Is beauty a universal concept?


ACROSS AGE

• Even 3 month old infants prefer to gaze at faces that adults find beautiful, including faces from races they have not seen before

• 7 year olds, 12 year olds, 17 year olds and adults do not differ significantly in their ratings of attractiveness of faces of children and adults



ACROSS CULTURE

• Jones and Hill asked people from 5 cultures to rate a multiracial, multicultural set of faces– 2 isolated tribes, Hiwi

and Ache Indians– Russian– Brazil– United States



• People tend to agree which faces are beautiful and find similar features attractive across ethnically diverse faces

• All attracted to similar geometric proportions in the face

• Female faces with small lower faces (delicate jaws and relatively small chins) and eyes that were large in relation to the length of the face are preferred


THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY• Underlying universal mechanisms are responsible for beauty

• Beauty is an engineered manifestation

• Perception of beauty features may be governed by circuits shaped by natural selection in the human brain


“Is beauty a universal concept?”

THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY• But people still seem to be largely agreeable and consistent in ratings of beauty

• People quote culture as being important BUT it still requires a basic premise that coheres with human intrinsic preferences of beauty and instinct


“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder?”

“How about culture and media influences?”


Conclusionthoughts on the history and theories of beauty

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• For thousands of years, philosophers, mathematicians and artists have tried to explain beauty using the language of mathematics but focus has been on details and intricacies

• Darwin’s evolution theory provides a big picture: Experience of beauty, with its emotional intensity and pleasure, belongs to our evolved human psychology

• Darwinian approach can be used to explain the universality and functionality of beauty

• The answer to questions pertaining to beauty may lie in cognitive neuroscience and biology

CONCLUSION


History of the Science of BeautyTan Kok Hong . Lim Kia Mian . Wong RuiXiong

theory of beauty

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