Carrie, Let me add my voice to those who have said that they very much like the basic theme of this thread. This is an important and often neglected issue in Objectivism.
Beyond that, some general thoughts.
Some of the posts on this thread seem to imply that a strong appreciation of physical beauty is a manifestation of the mind-body dichotomy. It is common for people to assume that anyone who spends any significant amount of time improving himself physically is choosing the physical side of the equation. Not so. The mind-body dichotomy is the premise that there is some metaphysical conflict between the two realms. The fact is that real achievements in either realm require mind-body integration.
Those who subscribe to the dichotomy assume that achievements in the physical realm do not reflect mental effort or development. Professional athletes are not mindless robots. Their achievements require enormous dedication and mental effort—it does not happen as a consequence of traits one is endowed with by birth. Some people obviously have a physical advantage here, but there are plenty of people who might be described as genetically superior in some respects who are abject failures as athletes. And the difference is not one of gross, mindless “physical” effort. If they do not train their minds to do the work and conform to the discipline required, they do not succeed.
“Cheating” would involve creating the appearance of a value, i.e., making it look as though you have knowledge or strength or beauty you do not in fact possess. Acquiring strength through steroids that ultimately damage your health is equivalent to getting high grades by neglecting your body’s need for rest—it is not “cheating” but it certainly is shortsighted and destructive. Even successful plastic surgery requires some degree of mental effort: one has to make intelligent choices in regard to doctors, potential side effects and long-range consequences.
Whether we choose to devote our energies to achievements in one realm or the other (or both) is obviously an issue of personal values. The choice to use plastic surgery to enhance your appearance is also an issue of context and personal values. It could reflect a professional ambition, as in the case of an actor or stage performer. But it could also represent a perfectly legitimate response to abnormal physical development or a deficiency in the sexual maturation process. Beyond that, if someone chose to use plastic surgery to counter the effects of aging or to make them feel more sexually attractive, it is an issue of personal choice. If it contributes to their personal happiness and is not pursued with a cavalier disregard for possible negative consequences, who is in a position to call it irrational?
The denigration of beauty as superficial and unimportant is another manifestation of the mind-body dichotomy. The power of art should be enough to convince anyone that it is anything but superficial. It is clear that, especially in the visual realm, we respond on a visceral level to what we perceive in the physiognomy of others, and that extremely subtle factors are involved. (I recall a quote from a lecture by Nathaniel Branden: “It is not villainy that you respond to in the face of a pretty girl.”).
Again, it is clear that an integration of the physical and the mental realms is involved. Two critically important spiritual values here are pride and sexuality. An additional aspect is our motivation to please others whose response we value.
For myself, I know that my response to a woman is often directly related to what I perceive as the effort she invested in her appearance, regardless of how technically beautiful she might be. A moderately attractive woman who clearly put forth some effort would be much more appealing to me that a classically perfect woman who obviously did not care. On the other hand, the use of too much make-up or an obsession with physical appearance might be taken—correctly or incorrectly—for a lack of intelligence, and for that reason be decidedly unattractive.
As for the definition of beauty, as is so often the case, Ayn Rand put it best:
“Beauty is a sense of harmony. Whether it’s an image, a human face, a body or a sunset, take the object which you call beautiful as a unit and ask yourself: what are its constituent elements, and are they all harmonious? If they are, the result is beautiful.”
(from The Ayn Rand Lexicon)
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