I have been reading this book that has been dealing with Christian Aesthetics. There was a fascinating chapter on the aesthetic philosophies of both St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. If I understand it correctly, Augustine based his philosophies on Platonic ideals [as seen through a Christian worldview] while exploring his ontological conception of God. In many ways he reinforces the contemporary view that the Idea is what is Beautiful. He would argue [I believe] that the physical world, even though corrupt, is beautiful, because it is a physical, though imperfect manifestation of the abstract Divine idea or Logos. To this conceit it is important to note that Christ, the divine God taking on the form of flesh, justifies the concept that the Beautiful can be perceived in this world. Though I believe the idea behind or subject of a work is vastly important, how a work is framed, contextualized and in any way executed in terms of environment, scale, cultural bias etc. is also of supreme importance. We live in a world of forms and we make tangible the realm of abstract concepts by framing them in the terms of what we know or have experienced. We can experience something for what it is, but we can't describe it [the whole] without breaking it down into characteristics of itself as related to something else that shares common essential characteristics. For instance, without relating it to anything else explain the flavor of grilled steak to someone who has never eaten meat.
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6 comments:
Okay, so after reading this several times I think I finally understand what you are saying.
This just goes to prove #9 in my post from Monday.
I'm not sure that I have anything to add, but I do agree!
Love ya!
I remember my high school english teacher challenging us to define/describe some "things" in a way that someone who had never experienced them before could understand. I can't remember what the "things" were, but I do remember being amazed at how difficult it was to do that.
I wish I knew what you just said...
I not that smart.
I recall my days back in the allegorical cave when I would sit watching the shadows dance on the wall while I ate my juicy medium well saber tooth tiger steak.
Sorry to jump in on this late, but would Augustine say that you could judge the beauty of a piece of art based on how well it represents the abstract ideal? Also, can you call one work more beautiful than another for the same reason?
Interesting post. Thanks for making me think...
This is hard to say. Human judgment relies on quality of perception and increased sophistication through exposure to many forms. Judgment isn't fixed but is constantly being reformed as new data is input and crunched according to previous understanding. With that said [with me fully acknowledging that I am no Augustine expert] I would say that Augustine might agree with the idea that the extent to which a physical work reflects the ideal is a gauge of its beauty as long as "the ideal" is in reference to aspects of the perfect God.
One can call one work more beautiful than another for many reasons, some formal and some personal. If the reflection of the abstract ideal is what an individual values highly, then that same individual may very well judge a particular work superior to another work based on that criteria. We all bring our individual criteria [formulated and unformulated, conscious and unconscious] to a piece and judge on a combination of things. So, it would again be difficult to say what Augustine would think.
Also, Augustine wrote for decades and his progression of works show growth and sophistication and change over that time period.
Thank you for stopping by and adding to the conversation!
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