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Post by juju on Jan 31, 2016 1:08:39 GMT
Not sure if this is the right place for this question as it could have gone in Science or Philosophy/Theology. Move it if you like.
So, I've been wondering about the evolutionary reasons for the appreciation of beauty. I'm often moved to tears by a beautiful piece of music or art, or even a lovely view, but what's that about? What's the evolutionary advantage of feeling deeply stirred by something beautiful? (I'm talking things here, not attraction to people which has fairly obvious reasons).
I guess it's one of the things which distinguishes humans, although who knows whether animals might not feel something similar? But why do we need to feel moved by beauty - what purpose does it serve?
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Post by JoeP on Jan 31, 2016 22:36:19 GMT
What about magpies and so on being interested in and collecting shiny things? Is that something akin to appreciation beauty in something without a direct practical use?
But yes, being moved by something beautiful and just wanting to look at it is something that seems unique to humans. (Plenty of people do want to collect and hoard beautiful things ... even sunsets ... just think of how many people whip out their cameras instead of just enjoying it! And we want recordings of music and catalogues of art shows and prints of paintings so on. But I digress.)
I haven't thought of an evolutionary advantage yet. But it might be a side-effect of consciousness. There's something compelling about experiencing altered states of consciousness - art does this as much as drugs. Maybe we're wired to get pleasure from things that make us see the world differently - because it can create ideas that lead to inventions that lead to better survival. (Or something ... this seems a bit of a stretch now!)
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Post by tangent on Feb 1, 2016 0:18:40 GMT
Why does a Peacock have beautiful tail feathers?
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Post by Alvamiga on Feb 1, 2016 0:47:26 GMT
To impress the ladies, of course!
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Post by juju on Feb 1, 2016 0:49:17 GMT
Why does a Peacock have beautiful tail feathers? To attract a mate. But I wasn't thinking of that kind of beauty which is to attract another being (usually to procreate), but the kind of feeling you get when you see a sunset, or moonlight on water, or listen to an amazing piece of music.
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Post by Moose on Mar 30, 2016 2:02:44 GMT
Yeah, peacocks probably have no interest in how humans perceive them -- indeed given that we have a propensity for collecting their feathers then they might prefer that we did not. I think there's a difference between animals being what we see as being beautiful - which is probably incidental - and things themselves being beautiful. And yet I don't know the answer to the OP. I see nature as being inherently beautiful and so do an awful lot of human beings. Not all though.
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Post by tangent on Mar 30, 2016 7:19:14 GMT
Some mathematical equations are so beautiful they almost make me cry... and I'm sure I'm not the only person that cries when they see a mathematical equation.
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Post by juju on Mar 30, 2016 9:21:35 GMT
Some mathematical equations are so beautiful they almost make me cry... and I'm sure I'm not the only person that cries when they see a mathematical equation. I've cried at mathematical equations, but for completely different reasons...
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Post by Moose on Mar 31, 2016 1:19:17 GMT
I've actually heard other people say that about maths. I did not understand it but I really wish that I was able to.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 8:42:30 GMT
Some mathematical equations are so beautiful they almost make me cry... and I'm sure I'm not the only person that cries when they see a mathematical equation. I've cried at mathematical equations, but for completely different reasons... Same here!
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Yuki
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Post by Yuki on Apr 1, 2016 10:10:29 GMT
I guess it's one of the things which distinguishes humans, although who knows whether animals might not feel something similar? But why do we need to feel moved by beauty - what purpose does it serve? Zogg from Betelgeuse made a video about this topic: In short, he explains that it doesn't really serve any evolutionary purpose, and is more of a byproduct of our attraction to certain traits in people of the opposite gender, which allow us to select mates who probably have better genes, and to locations where food is abundant and easily accessible (with lots of trees and greenery, bird songs which we try to emulate and enhance in music, and so on).
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Post by tangent on Apr 1, 2016 13:11:59 GMT
So, in my case, I'm attracted to mates who swoon over mathematical equations.
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Yuki
Senior members
Posts: 632
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Post by Yuki on Apr 1, 2016 19:14:06 GMT
So, in my case, I'm attracted to mates who swoon over mathematical equations. Well, maybe. But some mathematical properties like symmetry, smoothness and simplicity are involved in mate selection, as well as finding fast solutions to survival problems.
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Post by tangent on Apr 1, 2016 20:32:29 GMT
Yes, that's true but I think there's a beauty in abstract entities, such as infinity, that have no parallel in human form.
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Post by JoeP on Apr 1, 2016 22:10:19 GMT
Yes, that's true but I think there's a beauty in abstract entities, such as infinity, that have no parallel in human form. Some humans display infinite stupidity.
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Post by tangent on Apr 1, 2016 22:20:11 GMT
*nods*
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