Is Beauty Really a subjective Quality?

Beauty is often defined as a mental state of mind which makes these objects beautiful to perceive. These objects include sunsets, landscapes, beautiful humans and other works of art. Beauty, along with aesthetic sense, is the most important part of aesthetics, among the major branches of psychology. According to recent research, women are more influenced by beauty than men.

The word beauty was introduced in the Encyclopedic Dictionary in 1859. It was defined by Benjamin Franklin who based his definition on observation of nature, which he made through his telescope. Franklin’s opinion that beauty could be positively judged by looking at a picture, created a positive attitude towards beauty in both men and women. This positive attitude toward beauty was used by Victorian poets, such as Jane Austen, to support their notion of beauty as something that can be personally experienced and attained.

However, while beauty may be subjective, people also claim that there are objectively valid characteristics of beauty. According to some psychologists, physical attractiveness may motivate men to form lasting friendships with members of the opposite sex; others may worry that certain physical attributes may determine a person to be physically unattractive, or may even be a source of embarrassment or shame. Others still argue that beauty depends on a combination of several individual characteristics, such that only the most attractive individuals are considered beautiful. Although there is no consensus on the exact definition of beauty, most people agree that a person is not truly beautiful if they possess several undesirable traits.