My UNE ePortfolio

Blog #16

How can our experiences shape the way we see the world and influence the things we find beautiful? How can this influence our community? In John Armstrong’s essay, “La Bella Vita,” he talks about Friedrich Schiller’s ideas about beauty. He wants to know why we find certain things beautiful and why some things are beautiful to one person but not another. His reasoning has led me to believe that our experiences shape who we are and thus how we view the world. We may find something beautiful because it reminds us of a happy moment in our lives. It could be something as mundane as a leaf on the sidewalk that most people would not look twice at but to some people, it is beautiful. This leads me to believe that beauty is malleable and can differ from person to person. Beauty is not an objective measure and does not fit one person’s definition. 

In psychology, we learn that our personalities and behaviors are influenced not only by our genetics but also by the world around us and the things we experience. This is the famous nature vs nurture claim. I think that we see certain things as beautiful because society tells  us to. It is most likely that someone will find a natural landscape or a sunset beautiful. But why? Why do we find some people more physically attractive than others? I read an article about a mathematical formula for the “most beautiful face.” It attempts to explain how the ratios between certain measures of a person’s face can influence how “beautiful” they are. Though some people may be more proportionally “correct” than others, the perception of that person’s beauty is still largely dependent on who the other person is and what they have experienced. This has had major impacts on our society and our communities.

I consider my immediate community to be my school community at the University of New England. I do not see the effects of beauty here as much as I do society as a whole. In my small community here at school, beauty does not play such an overt role. In society, people tend to hold people who are considered more “beautiful” to a higher respect. There are many double standards in today’s world when it comes to beauty. People tend to get away with doing bad things depending on how they are viewed in their community. I think we need to start looking past what we see on the surface and take actions more seriously.

Beauty can be found in the dynamic of a community itself. I found beauty in my transition to college this year. Before moving in I was utterly terrified of school and being away from home. When I got here, I found that I was right where I needed to be. There was beauty in the change in environment that I did not know I needed until I got here. I have been able to shape my experience within my community by meeting new people and gaining new knowledge from the things I experience.

1 Comment

  1. elishaemerson

    Great! I applaud the connections you are making between psychology and Armstrong. I also appreciate how you used bold font to highlight an important insight you may very likely be able to use in your ongoing paper.

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