The Effects of Beauty and the Redemption of the Ugly
The Effects of Beauty and the Redemption of the Ugly
Author(s): Juan Carlos Riofrío Martínez-VillalbaSubject(s): History of Philosophy, Special Branches of Philosophy
Published by: International Étienne Gilson Society
Keywords: Thomas Aquinas; transcendentals; beauty; ugly; love; catharsis; epiphany; pleasure;
Summary/Abstract: This paper ponders on the aftermath effects of beauty, the ugly, and the hypotheses on how to get rid of the ugly. Due to the impossibility of addressing the effects of something that is entirely unknown, the author first attempts, in lieu of a definition of beauty, to examine the three classical conditions for beauty, which will otherwise be respected as in some sense a mystery. Secondly, he turns to the effects of beauty by analogy to the six effects of love as elucidated by Thomas Aquinas; in addition, he adds three other effects of beauty found in classical Greek thought: catharsis, epiphany, and pleasure. Thirdly, he reviews, by way of contrast, the corresponding effects of the ugly; and then he proposes how the ugly can be “redeemed” by beauty.
Journal: Studia Gilsoniana
- Issue Year: 8/2019
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 401-430
- Page Count: 30
- Language: English
