An Aesthetical Eye

The daily dose of delight, of discernment, of deliberating beauty beyond belief - that is something which brings me joy, brightens my inner world. I bathe in beauty at times. I soak it up like sun in the springtime.

         Perhaps this is all it is, a gift of light. Perhaps there is no further purpose, for in itself it is fulfilment. And yet - I read Gadamer's¹ treatment of Kant's work² on the aesthetical judgment, and what it might contribute with. To what extent does the aesthetical sense contribute to evaluation of values? What is the connection between the ethical and the aesthetical? How does the connection between the good, the true and the beautiful play out in our sense of knowing?

          The experience I may have of something which brings me joy and deep, innocent pleasure, due to its innate qualities which I call beauty, to what extent is this experience of value in regards to epistemology? I realize it does not give my any insight into the thing itself, to its make-up, its being. Fair enough. I am not particularly interested in that, anyway. That would be to divide it up into recognizable particles and explain the phenomenon on material terms. That would be useless. It is much more powerful to connect heart and mind and behold the beautiful. I collect it in my mind, and I may pull out memories and behold them again, enjoy them again, with renewed reception.

          I see people's eyes. That can be tricky. It may look like I stare a bit, or look intently, as I notice the various facets of the eye's colours, how it reflects the light of the day or night, how the inner lines are smooth and clean. I see the shape, like almonds, or more rectangular, and it matches the inner beauty of the soul. Eyes are engaging.

          I see nature. I see built structures. I see artwork. The objects are many, but, again, it is not the objects which possess importance. It is more the process of quickly discerning beauty from the lack of beauty, the related process which defines the good and the true in light of the beautiful.

Enchanted village

          Do I make any sense? What I am driving at is to suggest that we do possess an ability, a faculty, by which we exercise aesthetical judgement. I have an aesthetical eye. We all do, but we can learn to use it in discernment. It may be a gift, like a gift of light. It may be stronger in some. But I believe we all possess it. We all know we enjoy something beautiful, and it satisfies us, gives us even a sense of self worth at times.

          Some may argue that we have different tastes, different opinions on what we call beautiful. I see variants, but no real differences. If we let the beautiful be defined mutually by the good and the true, I think we all agree on the general concept of beauty. A personal taste actually only confirms my claim that we all have the faculty of aesthetical judgement intact. We use it more than we realize, and I believe we act upon it also much more that we realize. And here I am back again at the connection between ethics and aesthetics. To do good is beautiful. It comforts the heart. It brightens my inner world.

Kviteseid, my village

1Truth and Method, part 1 , (Wahrheit und Methode )

2Critique of Judgement ( Kritk der Urteilskraft)