WHY IS BEAUTY ASSOCIATED WITH MORALITY
No, I am not talking about ‘inner beauty’ that should flourish in our society but rather the ‘superficial beauty’ that does flourish in our society. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Magnus opus, the Summa Theologica, Aquinas describes beauty as “that which gives pleasure when seen.” Hence, according to him, beauty serves as a function of what does or does not provide pleasure. So you might think that these notions are a part of Greek mythology and should not hold true in today’s contemporary world. Turns out that’s not the case. This mental picture is imbibed so well in our minds that we have stopped taking a look at them. Imagine the following scenario: An elderly man falls over the curb of a street, and a young girl passing by immediately runs to him and attempts to help. If you witnessed this, you would probably be impressed by the kindness of the girl’s deed, and it may also occur to you that this girl has a beautif...