Brian Harrell: Outside Reading (Argument from Beauty)
Argument from Beauty for the Existence of God
The argument from beauty, also known as the aesthetic argument is an argument for the existence of a realm of immaterial ideas or, most commonly, for the existence of God. I utilize arguments made by contemporary British philosopher of religion, Richard Swinburne, who wrote about the existence of God, advocating a variation of the argument from beauty. The base of his argument is stated as,"God has reason to make a basically beautiful world, although also reason to leave some of the beauty or ugliness of the world within the power of creatures to determine; but he would seem to have overriding reason not to make a basically ugly world beyond the powers of creatures to improve. Hence, if there is a God there is more reason to expect a basically beautiful world than a basically ugly one" (Swinburne).
What I see that this argument poses is the idea that through the experience of beauty one sees the proof/evidence for the existence of God. I strengthen this argument using classical Greek philosopher Plotinus who defines this argument holding 5 premises: everything physically beautiful could conceivably be more beautiful; therefore all physical beauty falls short of perfection; therefore perfect beauty exists only in its eternal form;therefore the timeless idea of beauty comes from a non-material realm, independent and superior to the imperfect world of the senses; therefore perfect beauty describes God.
I find that in both of these philosopher's works, they both give valid reasoning supporting the idea that Beauty is evidence for the existence of God. Imagine the most beautiful flower, scenery, or person you have ever seen; truly someone must have had something to do with it!
The argument from beauty, also known as the aesthetic argument is an argument for the existence of a realm of immaterial ideas or, most commonly, for the existence of God. I utilize arguments made by contemporary British philosopher of religion, Richard Swinburne, who wrote about the existence of God, advocating a variation of the argument from beauty. The base of his argument is stated as,"God has reason to make a basically beautiful world, although also reason to leave some of the beauty or ugliness of the world within the power of creatures to determine; but he would seem to have overriding reason not to make a basically ugly world beyond the powers of creatures to improve. Hence, if there is a God there is more reason to expect a basically beautiful world than a basically ugly one" (Swinburne).
What I see that this argument poses is the idea that through the experience of beauty one sees the proof/evidence for the existence of God. I strengthen this argument using classical Greek philosopher Plotinus who defines this argument holding 5 premises: everything physically beautiful could conceivably be more beautiful; therefore all physical beauty falls short of perfection; therefore perfect beauty exists only in its eternal form;therefore the timeless idea of beauty comes from a non-material realm, independent and superior to the imperfect world of the senses; therefore perfect beauty describes God.
I find that in both of these philosopher's works, they both give valid reasoning supporting the idea that Beauty is evidence for the existence of God. Imagine the most beautiful flower, scenery, or person you have ever seen; truly someone must have had something to do with it!
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