The definition of beauty is hard to define. Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder some say beauty has a definite form. Biologically, I would say that beauty is built into our genes and the way we respond to visual cues. To me biological beauty is on par with what people consider as physical attractiveness. Biological beauty deals more with the physical such as traits. There is without a doubt in the competition for mates, animals will choose the strongest and the most physically fit. However at the same time, in selecting mates, female deers were found to choose males with a specific antler shape and proportion. Also symmetry is important in nature because humans and animals will prefer features that are more symmetrical, which is a sign that their are no genetic abnormalities. For example: if one sees someone who has abnormally small arm or limbs that could be a sign that the person had fetal alcohol syndrome. Genetically we wouldn’t prefer such a mate and if we were to be asked the ideal mate, we would not picture a deformed human being no matter how pretty the face of the person is. There is without a doubt that genetically men would prefer women with wider hips and bigger breast because these are signs that the women are genetically fertile and would be able to give birth and raise children. In ancient times, women with narrow hips are likely to die from childbirth.
In nature we also find proportions that are considered “beautiful.” They repeat themselves in spider webs, sunflower or honeycombs. These proportions tie in with our bodies’ proportions and what we see as “beautiful.”
However, there are things that are consider beautiful to some and not others. I personally think the picture of a perfectly clean blot of proteins with straight and equal lanes is beautiful. To others however, it seems strange and they cannot understand why I would think such a thing would be beautiful.
I feel humans are fascinated with the idea of what is beauty. To me art is the pursuit of the best way to represent what the artist is considered beautiful. During the Renaissance, the human body was considered beautiful, however previously the spiritual side was considered beautiful and that the human body is imperfect because of sin.
Nice discussion. As always not only nature dictate our choice of beauty, so dose our culture. Since the 1960’s women’s beauty was measured by their narrow waistline and sometimes in their boyish features, in 2000, men’s beauty has been measured by their aphrodite qualities.