"In the judgment of beauty, there are some principles common
to all men, which, being derived
from our nature, may be
called natural principles of taste."
In this quote from section two of his "An Inquiry Concerning
Beauty, Order, Harmony,
and Design," Hutcheson argues that there are natural
principles which are shared by all
humans. And that certain principles of taste underlie our
judgments of beauty and provide a
common ground upon which we can base our aesthetic judgments.
This idea is part of his larger exploration of the relationship
between beauty and our
natural sense of harmony. He argues that harmony is a necessary
component of beauty, and
that it is something that is pleasing to all humans. Going into
greater detail, he believes that
beauty is a quality that is found in objects that exhibit
"uniformity amidst variety." He suggests
that objects that are too uniform are boring, while objects that
are too varied are chaotic. So
instead, beauty is found in objects that strike a balance between
uniformity and variety.
This relates to his broader claims made in sections 1-4 of
"An Inquiry Concerning Beauty,
Order, Harmony, and Design." where he argues that this sense
of harmony is derived from our
innate sense of moral goodness and allows us to distinguish
between good and evil. For
Hutcheson, beauty, order, harmony, and design are all qualities
that can be perceived by
humans through the moral sense. He believes that this sense allows
us to distinguish between
beauty and deformity and to appreciate the former.
In terms of there being natural principles of taste that guide our
judgments of beauty.
An argument can be made that there are certain universal aesthetic
principles that are shared
by people from different cultures and backgrounds. For example,
most people tend to find
landscapes with rolling hills and winding rivers to be beautiful,
and the color combination of
blue and green is generally considered pleasing to the eye. This
suggests that there may be
some innate factors that influence our aesthetic preferences.
However, aesthetic tastes can just
as easily be shaped by cultural and societal factors. For
instance, the Japanese aesthetic of
"wabi-sabi" values imperfection, simplicity, and
asymmetry, which might not be considered
conventionally beautiful in other cultures. Another example is
abstract art, which often lacks a
clear sense of harmony to be considered beautiful by
Hutcheson’s definitions.
And in terms of being a compass for morality, there are probably
many works of art or
architecture that are considered beautiful despite being
associated with things we might
consider immoral. The Taj Mahal, for instance, is widely admired
for its beauty, but was said to
be built as a symbol of Mughal imperialism and forced labor.
Our conception of beauty depends on so many factors. Everyone may
be born with an
"objective" natural disposition, but things like
culture, and experiences may eventually shape
you as much - if not more, than your nature. The memories you've
created, the sights you long
to one day see, imperfections in a work that reminds you of the
imperfections within yourself.
Maybe at the end of the day, beauty can simply be described as the
unique needs of the soul.