Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty

http://www.ted.com TED collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate Denis Dutton's provocative theory on beauty -- that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply "in the eye of the beholder," are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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[erinsotherstuff]

I don't like hearing the inside of his mouth so much.

[Erin Hightower]

The Dr. Who box was hilarious 

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[xox1234xox]

I agree, it avoids to answer that some people have unique ideas of beauty. Some of beauty is "educational"; in other words, the beauty of the object is so profound/unique/bizarre that some people ignore it until they know what the piece is about. Also, some people love a beauty object; if we're "conditioned by our ancestors" to love something, explain the people who hate it!

[Don G]

Newt Gingrich has a good point.

[buzzin1975]

That's because he's a white sack of shit.

[goldenraisins]

Also, he mentions that pre-columbian works are "regarded as treasures" in Europe--I'm not sure that monetary value and preciousness can necessarily be equated with aesthetic appreciation. Regarding something as a treasure makes me think that it is something one wants to hoard, and this speaks, to me, of conquer...

[goldenraisins]

I take issue with the fact that all of the things that he lists in the beginning as examples of beautiful are all things considered beautiful by modern western standards.

[casiash]

those subtitles are so wrong

[MrJustSomeGuy87]

Great talk, but I did not find a single point that truly goes against the idea that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

I know the speaker wanted to establish that the feeling of beauty involves a universal, transcendent experience shared by all humans; but I still see culture as a mediating factor.

We are the artifactual product of earlier generations and developments... the evolutionary perspective necessarily involves the idea that aesthetic response is historically conditioned.

[MrJustSomeGuy87]

the fact that certain cultures enjoy the fruits of other cultures does not prove that there are "cross-cultural" standards by which to judge beauty. It means that artistic expression is open-textured to the point where it can be interpreted and re-interpreted through many cultural lenses. This doesn't mean you've transcended cultural conditioning it simply means that your cultural coordinates are broad enough to find value in the products of others. In other words, I disagree with the speaker

[avedic]

talented artist!