8/28/20

Genuine Beauty more sustainable than Trendy Fashions

Here is another really great video from Roman Catholic layman Brian Holdsworth discussing artistic beauty.  As in other videos, he talks about how modern and postmodern architecture (and other forms of art) that are simply 'trendy' do not age as well as more classic designs; trendy or fashionable modern designs tend to look "dated" or simply "ugly" within a generation, while the classic designs tend to be acknowledged as beautiful for centuries.

What is the difference?  The ancient Greek philosophers believed that beauty was objective, and not simply "in the eye of the beholder."  Those designs that come nearest to expressing objective truth are most enduring and beloved over time.  The Early and Medieval Christians believed the same thing, holding that Beauty was objective precisely because its ultimate source is God himself.

But, don't different people look at works of art and respond in different ways?  Doesn't this prove that beauty is subjective?  Holdsworth deals with this objection by pointing out that different people also give different responses to a mathematical equation, but it does not therefore follow that there is no right answer after all.  It is simply a reflection of the fallible nature of human thinking.  This applies also to our thinking about beauty.

I'm sharing this video as one more plea for everyone to support the building and maintaining of buildings that are built according to classic modes or styles rather than modern or post-modern or trendy buildings that will look terrible in 40 years.  


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