周艺菲 丁潇怡 廖赞钰
Mottos about beauty
•
Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.
——Socrates
•
Living well and beautifully
and justly are all one thing.
——Socrates
•
Give me beauty in the inward
soul; may the outward and the
inward man be at one.
——Socrates
Mottos about beauty
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
——Plato
• Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light
in the heart
——Kahlil Gibran
• A soul that sees beauty may sometimes
walk alone.
——Johann von Goethe
Other quotes on beauty
• Did my heart love till now?
Forswear it sight,
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
——Romeo and Juliet
Other quotes on beauty
• If you truly
love Nature,
you will find
beauty
everywhere.
——Vincent
Van Gogh
Other quotes on beauty
• In beauty, that of favor, is more
than that of color; and that of
decent and gracious motion, more
than that of favor. That is the best
part of beauty, which a picture
cannot express; no, nor the first
sight of the life. There is no
excellent beauty, that hath not
some strangeness in the proportion.
——Francis Bacon <Of Beauty>
Compendium of Socrates
• Socrates(469BC – 399BC) was
one of the most powerful,
intriguing, annoying, inspiring,
widely known, and yet
misunderstood figures in the
history of philosophy.
• He stood clearly for some
values and clearly against
others. He had high respect for
justice, integrity, courage,
temperance, decency正派,
beauty and balance.
• He attracted faithful followings.
He taught and inspired Plato
and Aristotle.
Compendium of Socrates
• Socrates believed the true self is not the body,
but the soul.
• True beauty is inner beauty, beauty of spirit and
character. Happiness, like goodness, is a matter
of inner qualities. He preferred a good and
beautiful soul to a pleasing body that housed a
lesser self.
• Socrates believed the psyche灵魂 is the
essence of happiness.
Socrates’ theory
• Theory of Forms is the theory that there exist as
real entities such things as Beauty in itself,
Goodness in itself, and largeness坦荡 in itself.
• Socrates posits Forms as the true reasons for
things being as they are.
• For instance, something is beautiful because it
participates in the Form of Beauty, and for no
other reason. While others might try to explain
the beauty of an object in terms of its color or
shape, Socrates suggests that ultimately, the
simplest and best explanation is given by the
Theory of Forms.
Aesthetics & Beauty
• Aesthetics美学 is a
branch of
philosophy dealing
with the nature of
art, beauty, and
taste, with the
creation and
appreciation of
beauty.
A Socratic Dialogue on the
Meaning of Beauty
• ATREUS: Surely Socrates you do not give yourself enough credit. You are
one of Athens most intellectually gifted citizens. You would have no
difficulty in determining which of two things were more beautiful.
• SOCRATES: No Atreus, you give me too much credit. I would never be so
foolish as to claim that I could determine which of two things were more
beautiful, for I do not even know what beauty is.
• ATREUS: Surely you must know what beauty is. The notion of beauty
comes so naturally to us that to claim not to know is simply foolish. Even a
child knows what beauty is. Are you just putting me on欺骗, Socrates?
• SOCRATES: Not at all Atreus, I am only asking what beauty is out of
complete and utter sincerity. Please won't you lend me a moment of your
precious time and impart on me your knowledge in this particular area?
• ATREUS: Very well Socrates. Beauty is that which we find physically
attractive, things that are pretty, things that look good, are pleasant to look
at, pleasing to the eye and so forth. Surely you would agree?
• SOCRATES: So Atreus, beauty is simply that which pleases the eye?
• ATREUS: Of course, Socrates. It is as simple as that. You see, the notion of
beauty is not a difficult concept to grasp; you understand it already.
A Socratic Dialogue on the
Meaning of Beauty
•
•
•
•
•
•
…
SOCRATES: In virtue of what is this flower beautiful?
ATREUS: This flower is beautiful in virtue of the way it makes me feel. This
flower instils贯彻 in me a feeling of beauty.
SOCRATES: So beauty is a feeling?
ATREUS: Beauty is that which one feels when one is looking at something
appealing, or pleasing to the senses, such as this flower.
SOCRATES: So beauty is that which one feels when sensing something
appealing. But appealing is the word you used to describe beauty. Therefore,
your claim would be that beauty is that which one feels when one is looking
at something beautiful. My dear Atreus, you have not given me any clearer
picture of what beauty is than what I already had before I came here. I feel
that if we spend just a few hours longer, we will be able to determine just
what beauty is, Atreus. Won't you stay and enlighten an old fool?
ATREUS: Please Socrates, I must go. I have just remembered some final
preparations for the gallery that I need to do right away. Goodbye Socrates.
Conclusion of Socratic Dialogue
• At the heart of this dilemma of a
philosophical nature is the true
meaning of the term "beauty."
• In this dialogue, Socrates claims
to have no clear notion about
what beauty is, yet his interlocutor,
Atreus is considered somewhat of
an expert in this area.
• The philosophical aim of this
dialogue was to demonstrate that
Atreus' understanding of beauty
was inadequate.
• Finally Atreus gives one last
attempt at defining the term, but
this too, is not good enough for
Socrates.
Modern beauty
Thanks for
your attention!