the middle ages:
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THE AGE OF ANTIQUITY From the Pythagoreans to Vitruvius the Roman Architect & Engineer: An introduction to the objectivity vs. subjectivity of beauty in philosophical aesthetics. THE MIDDLE AGES:. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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THE AGE OF ANTIQUITY
From the Pythagoreans to Vitruvius the Roman Architect & Engineer:
An introduction to the objectivity vs. subjectivity of beauty in
philosophical aesthetics
THE AGE OF ANTIQUITY
From the Pythagoreans to Vitruvius the Roman Architect & Engineer:
An introduction to the objectivity vs. subjectivity of beauty in
philosophical aesthetics
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THE MIDDLE AGES:THE MIDDLE AGES:
When the philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages stated “X” was
beautiful were they acknowledging a quality that X inherently possesses or
did they confer “beauty” upon it?
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Consider the question this way:Consider the question this way:
When you claim that X is beautiful, do you
simply mean that you find it pleasing?
Would you say that all things are by themselves
aesthetically neutral, neither beautiful or
ugly?
A bouquet of Tulips
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Consider the following questions:Consider the following questions:
Would you agree with Plato: “There are things
which are beautiful always and by themselves?
Would agree with Protagoras: “Man is the measure of all things: nothing else but the
pleasures of the eyes and ear”?
Plato ; School of Athens by Raphael
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Consider the following points.Consider the following points.
It is naïve to believe that the theory of beauty was “objective” until the impact
of modern thought
Rather, the subjective theory of beauty has always existed in Western thought
(e.g., the Sophists).
The objective theory of beauty was simply predominant in Ancient and
Medieval thought.
A bouquet of Roses
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Middle Ages:Middle Ages:
The Middle Ages continued the two views of the Antiquity with the objective view still dominant but more united than times past.
In sum, the Middle Ages believed that beauty is an objective property of things, but conceded that it is perceived by man by subjective means.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Middle Ages:Middle Ages:
Another notable difference is that while ancient philosophers considered objective
beauty to be self-evident, the scholastics thought it was an arguable point.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Middle Ages:Middle Ages:
“I have to ask whether something is beautiful because it pleases, or
whether it pleases because it is beautiful. And I will receive,
no doubt, the answer that it pleases because it is
beautiful.”De vera rel. XXXII 59.
St. Augustine: 354-430 A.D.
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES:
PERSONS DATES WORLDVIEW
OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE
12. St. Augustine Beauty is objective &
convenience is subjective
354-430A.D.
Christian.
X X
13. St. Isidor(Beauty is absolute and convenience is relative)
C. 560-646 A.D.
Christian X X
14. Albert the Great“Albertus Magnus” & pupil
Ulrich von Strasburg:Absolute and relative beauty.
C. 1200-1280
Christian X X
15. William of AuvergneThe essence of beautiful things
is to please us.
? – 1249A.D.
Christian X X
16. St. Thomas AquinasA relation or interaction
between the subject & object.
c. 1225-1274
Christian X X
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES:
PERSONS DATES WORLDVIEW
OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE
12. St. Augustine Beauty is objective &
convenience is subjective
354-430A.D.
Christian.
X X
13. St. Isidor(Beauty is absolute and convenience is relative)
C. 560-646 A.D.
Christian X X
14. Ibn Al-Haitham AlhazenObjective beauty in form and
size; we know through experience.
965-1040A.D.
Islam X
15. Albert the Great“Albertus Magnus” & pupil
Ulrich von Strasburg:Absolute and relative beauty.
C. 1200-1280
Christian X X
16. William of AuvergneThe essence of beautiful things
is to please us.
? – 1249A.D.
Christian X X
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES:
PERSONS DATES WORLDVIEW
OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE
17. Thomas AquinasA relaton or interaction
between the subject & object.
Christian.
X X
18. Vitelo, who followed Alhazen’s theories
C. 560-646 A.D.
Christian X X
19. St. Thomas Christian X X
20. Vitello:Beauty is diverse
13th Century
Islam X X
21. Duns Scotus:beauty is a relation of
properties and relations.
1265-1308
Christian X
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Pythagoreans: Beauty is the property of the
universe.
Pythagoreans: Beauty is the property of the
universe.Argument: Aesthetic view of objectivity was cosmocentric: beauty is the property of the universe; man doesn’t invent beauty; he discovers beauty.
Pythagoreans, a named after the Pre-Socratic Philosopher Pythagoras (570?-495?) B.C. the most famous pre-Socratic philosopher, the “father of numbers.” They believed that everything was related to mathematics and that numbers were the ultimate reality.
Harmony, proportion, and number are the objective basis of beauty because harmony derives from order, order from proportion, proportion from measure, and measure from number.
“Order and proportion,” they said, “are beautiful and useful while order and lack of proportion are ugly and useless.” ~ Stobias, Ecl. IV. 1.40 H, frg. D 4, Diels.
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Next time:THE RENAISSANCE
Next time:THE RENAISSANCE