Aesthetics and Ethics

Aesthetics is the state of beauty.

Baumgarten is perhaps the father of aesthetics. He believed that art often aims to replicate nature which is the highest form of beauty. He believed that beauty exists primarily to provide pleasure.

Hume stated that beauty is “in the eye of the beholder”, that it is perceived differently by each individual as it depends on the individual’s circumstances (mood/social background/ etc) 

Kant considers beauty as universal, although he divides it into two categories:

1.      Free beauty: beauty without purpose

2.      Derivative beauty: beauty with purpose

Schopenhauer stated that beauty ought to be admired without bias, the thought of selfish gain or the opinions of others.

Nietzsche quoted "Nothing is beautiful, except for man alone: all aesthetics rests upon this naïveté. Nothing is ugly, except the degenerating man." "His feeling of power, his courage, and his pride - all fall with the ugly and rise with the beautiful." Essentially, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and man is the root of this idea of beauty.

Bentham’s idea of beauty runs parallel with his thoughts on ethics. As a utilitarian he would consider something as beautiful if it induced pleasure.

Ethics is based on morality. It decides whether actions are morally just or not.

Kant: People act from a sense of duty, rather than for selfish reasons.  Things are ethical if they follow the rational law of the universe.  He believes that you ought to treat people how you yourself would like to be treated.  This duty overrides seeking happiness.

Bentham: Bentham was a utilitarian. This principle is based on the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people .

Mill: Also a Utilitarian but believed that we ought to seek higher pleasures instead of lower ones. His famous quotes is “It is better to be human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”.

Schopenhauer: Followed the Buddhist teachings that to overcome desire is the route to happiness.  Actions are governed by human character traits, which cannot be changed as they are based on the will. In order to overcome one’s desire you ought to submerge yourself in creating pleasure that is long term, such as art or literature.

Schopenhauer is another German philosopher; he believes actions are governed by human character, which cannot be changed as they are determined by the will.

Kierkegaard: stated that there are three types of people:

1.      People who seek short-term pleasure based on aesthetic desire

2.      People who are religious (ethical)

3.      People who  search for responsibility (ethical)

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