Beauty and Evolution (2003)

Along with truth and goodness, beauty has a long philosophical history as one of three supreme values of western civilization. Twentieth century philosopher Charles Hartshorne claims that beauty is centerpiece of this classical trinity (303) and that nothing our experience is exempt from touch of beautiful; he also tells us that experience in all its phases can be valued aesthetically (308); all experience, that is, can be judged by quality of beauty we find there. English literary critic Terry Eagleton points out that reach of beauty exceeds that of mere thought, that it appeals to more than rational element of our minds; he says that beauty is involved the whole region of human perception and sensation, contrast to more rarefied domain of conceptual thought (13). If these and other authorities are correct, beauty is more than mere prettiness or elaborate ornamentation. In fact, it seems that beauty has been instrumental evolution of life on this planet and that it connects us to deepest sources of meaning and life. Recent studies sciences provide mounting evidence that beauty is an essential ingredient work of evolution; partnership of and beauty accounts for survival and development of human and other species. Psychologist Nancy Etcoff from Harvard Medical School tells us that Beauty is one of ways life perpetuates itself, and love of beauty is deeply rooted our biology (234). Etcoff and others point to animal kingdom where healthy looking creatures attract mates because they are most likely to produce healthy offspring. In birds glorious plumage and coloring indicate health and resistance to parasitical invasion. peacock, for example, flaunts his tail to dazzle and attract a mate, and he displays it a kind of dance by which he announces his attractiveness and his supreme good health, even though this colorful activity puts him at risk as prey. Apparently rewards of love and beauty outweigh danger of becoming some predator's dinner. well-known naturalist Konrad Lorenz has documented love and war games of some fish species which as well as territorial and reproductive interests are involved their fishy affairs. Even plants join drama as some orchids manage pollination by taking on color and shape of seductive female wasp to deceive male wasps into attempted mating. Indeed, these various displays of color, dance, and drama may be viewed as a parallel to human artistic productions, although lacking human artistic skills and intention. Thus interplay of beauty, reproduction and evolution can be viewed as a grand cosmic dance. As Etcoff says, Humans, like flowers and animals, inhabit a form that is both functional and aesthetic (70). In human evolution, correspondence between beauty and is more pronounced and more complex. Infants are regarded universally as beautiful, a fact that promotes their safety and assures their well-being a world of larger and potentially dangerous adults. Infants make baby-talk, show all kinds of body language, and engage cute mimicking of their parents--activities that have little cognitive content but immense binding and pleasure values. Ellen Dissanayake, a Darwinian art historian, has suggested that baby talk and play between mothers and infants is precursor of arts, beginnings of dance and poetry and music. Not surprisingly plays a major role adult romance. We humans may like to think our partners are chosen for reasons higher than those of other animals, and surely such factors do enter in. From a biological perspective, however, as Etcoff tells us, The biological purpose of sex is reproduction, not fun or friendship or communing of souls (69). To reproduce successfully we instinctively adopt strategies of larger animal community and give preference to mates who look healthy. …