What Is Beauty?

Harvard FAS

Beauty does not lie in the eye of the beholder, nor is it an inherent property of things; it is a tool for understanding that individuality and objectivity are not the only realities, and that more important than both is the social and distinctly human capacity to develop a shared subjectivity and thereby build a community. Beauty fosters sociality and forges bonds, which is why it has been a vital concept in every human civilization.In the first part of the seminar, we will analyze Immanuel…