1. 1 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

2. 2 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?

3. 3 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

4. 4 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

5. 5 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

6. 6 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

7. 7 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

8. 8 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.

9. 9 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES: PERSONS DATES WORLD VIEW OBJECTIVESUBJECTIVE 12. St. Augustine Beauty is objective & convenience is subjective 354- 430 A.D. Christian. XX 13.St. Isidor (Beauty is absolute and convenience is relative) C. 560- 646 A.D. Christian XX 14. Albert the Great “Albertus Magnus” & pupil Ulrich von Strasburg: Absolute and relative beauty. C. 1200- 1280 Christian XX 15.William of Auvergne The essence of beautiful things is to please us. ? – 1249 A.D. Christian XX 16. St. Thomas Aquinas A relation or interaction between the subject & object. c. 1225- 1274 Christian XX

10. 10 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES: PERSONS DATES WORLD VIEW OBJECTIVESUBJECTIVE 12. St. Augustine Beauty is objective & convenience is subjective 354- 430 A.D. Christian. XX 13.St. Isidor (Beauty is absolute and convenience is relative) C. 560- 646 A.D. Christian XX 14.Ibn Al-Haitham Alhazen Objective beauty in form and size; we know through experience. 965-1040 A.D. Islam X 15. Albert the Great “Albertus Magnus” & pupil Ulrich von Strasburg: Absolute and relative beauty. C. 1200- 1280 Christian XX 16.William of Auvergne The essence of beautiful things is to please us. ? – 1249 A.D. Christian XX

11. 11 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES: PERSONS DATES WORLD VIEW OBJECTIVESUBJECTIVE 17. Thomas Aquinas A relaton or interaction between the subject & object. Christian. XX 18.Vitelo, who followed Alhazen’s theories C. 560- 646 A.D. Christian XX 19. St. Thomas Christian XX 20.Vitello: Beauty is diverse 13 th Century Islam XX 21. Duns Scotus: beauty is a relation of properties and relations. 1265- 1308 Christian X

12. 12 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.

13. 13 Next time: THE RENAISSANCE