Callista takes on Dutton on Beauty (posted by Robin for Callista--whom the U's web server hates)

When Dutton states beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, or even the beholder’s culture, he says that humans think things are beautiful based on evolution. I always thought people just had different tastes. I never realized the conception of beauty could be passed down through evolution. To me, everyone seeing beauty differently was a personal ideal, not a cultural and especially evolutionary idea, so this contradicted what I thought was right in the world. However, this new idea has changed my mind about the conception of beauty. If fears can be passed down through evolution, why can’t the perception of beauty? This new idea just makes sense to me, now that I have watched Dutton’s lecture.

The first time I watched this part of the lecture,when Dutton said that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, I was like “uh what are you talking about of course it is…” However, this sentence caught my attention and made me listen to what he said to prove this idea of his. This really resonated with me because I grew up thinking everyone is unique and enjoy different things--which is probably just what my mom told me so I would get along with other kids. But based on this lecture, people all like the same things, which means people are not as unique as we are told they are. Dutton says, that because of our ancient ancestors, we all prefer similar images, appreciate art, and enjoy anything that is done well. This lecture showed me that even though everyone is different, we are all united through our ancestors perception of beauty, which has been passed down to us through evolution.

Dutton has made me question if anything I enjoy is really something personal, or if I like it because my ancestors did. I can definitely see the science wars in my feelings after watching Dutton’s lecture. I am questioning my reality because of what science says. I think it’s important to try to maintain some sense of self even though these men are making us all question our entire lives. We don’t necessarily have to believe what Pinker and Dutton are saying, but when they are so convincing, it is hard not to. They call into question some of the most famous scientists and philosophers, like when Dutton disproves Plato’s saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Also, the further I go into the science field, the more I realize that science does not have a definitive answer for everything, the more I question if anything is real, so Dutton’s lecture reaffirms this fear of mine. Pinker and Dutton prove that science and culture are very intertwined and there is not really a divide between the two. The sooner we all realize this, the easier it will be to swallow the ideas Pinker and Dutton have.