Mike -- I like your change of 'mind' to 'mind/body'. I wouldn't be surprised to be told by biometricians that all kinds of physical changes take place when we're exposed to a deeply moving piece of music or drama -- for starters, a simple rise in heart-rate. "Physical" changes in the neurons of the brain I take for granted since they figure to occur with EVERY experience, even the drabbest.
I'm less sure about equating the "experience" I infer you're calling "beauty" with images and thoughts as well as feelings. I dimly think of the occasioned images and thoughts as being the "causes" of the feelings, but I have no strong convictions about it. In a message dated 5/9/08 3:46:05 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Beauty? > > > > To which Mike Mallory responded: > > > > I suggest that beauty is a property (type of experience really) of humans > > which we perceive (is stimulated by or associated by) in things. > > > > Mike: I am comfortable with the formulation below except for the reference > to "minds" in the first sentence and "feeling" in the second. I would > substitute "mind/body" for "minds" and use a more inclusive term for > "feeling" that would allow for feelings, thoughts, images or just about > anything that would count as subjective state. I believe beauty is a > complex experience. Subjects cover a wide range from sunsets and sculpture > to mathematical proofs and ironic consequences. So, beauty may appear as > primarily emotional or affective, but it may also appear as conceptual and > abstract. > > > "I suggest that beauty is a type of human experience that arises in our > > minds > > when we contemplate certain non-notional objects. In other words, 'beauty' > > is > > a label for a kind of feeling we get, just as 'pain' or 'itching' is." > > > Mike Mallory > > > ************** Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)
