The Puzzle of Beauty

Shahidha Bari | Aeon | 7th May 2018

Do we understand beauty? Euclid thought it was a matter of harmonious proportion. David Hume said it existed only in the mind of the individual. Kant proposed that declaring something beautiful means “we believe we have a universal voice”. The writer agrees – perceived beauty “creates a temporary kind of community … a space under which our collective thoughts gather”.