What Philosophers Think About Beauty

Before the 18th century, most Western philosophical

views on beauty treated it as an objective quality. For
example:
• St. Augustine asked whether things were beautiful
because it gave delight, or whether it gave delight
because it was beautiful. He believed it to be the
latter.
• Plato connected beauty as a response to love and
desire. He asserted that beauty exists in the realm of
Forms, and that objects are found beautiful because
they are reflection of the idea of beauty that already
exists in the realm of Forms.
• Aristotle asserted that the chief forms of beauty are
order, symmetry, and definiteness that can be
demonstrated by mathematical sciences.
By the 18th century, however, beauty was associated with
pleasure as a personal preference. Some philosophers
who hold this view are:
David Hume – Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It
exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and
each mind perceives a different beauty.
Immanuel Kant – The judgment of taste is therefore not a
judgment of cognition, and is consequently not logical
but aesthetical, by which we understand that whose
determining ground can be no other than subjective.
Francis Hutcheson – The perception of beauty does
depend on the external sense of sight; however, the
internal sense of beauty operates as an internal or reflex
sense.
What Did Psychology Discover About Beauty?
Cognitive bias- is an error in reasoning, evaluating,
remembering, or any other mental process that is
often a result of holding on to one’s preferences
and beliefs regardless of contrary information.
Halo effect- (also known as the physical
attractiveness stereotype and the “what is
beautiful is good” principle) refers to the
tendency of people to rate attractive individuals
more favorably for their personality traits or
characteristics as compared to those who are less
attractive.
How Cultural Traditions Shape Body Image
Culture has a significant impact on how a person feels about
himself or herself, as well as his or her body image.
Body image is generally defined as how one thinks and feels
toward one’s body.
Does your body image have an impact on your self- esteem?
Self- esteem is about how you value yourself and how you
feel others value you. Self – esteem is important because it
can affect your mental health as well as how you behave.
How important is physical beauty?
Physical beauty is extremely important.
A self- image happens when your looks do not match your
beauty standards. For example, if you believe that being thin
is sexy and attractive, yet you are not thin then you might
believe you are unattractive.
The Sexual Self
Development of Secondary Sex
Characteristics
Soon after the fertilization of an egg, the
development of the reproductive system
begins.
Rapid reproductive development happens
inside the mother’s womb; but when the
child is born until he/she reaches puberty,
there is little change in the reproductive
system.
Development of the Sexual Organs in the
Embryo and Fetus
Female sex is considered the “fundamental”
sex because if a particular chemical prompting
is absent, all fertilized eggs will develop into
females.
SRY ( Sex- determining Region of the Y
chromosome )- cascade of chemical reactions
must be present initiated by a single gene in
the male chromosome
Females do not have any Y chromosomes
Further Sexual Development
Occurs at Puberty
Puberty is the stage of
development at which individuals
become sexually mature.
Puberty can be separated into five
stages. (refer page 66-67 in UTS
book)
What are the erogenous zone of the
body?
Erogenous zone- areas of the body
that are highly sensitive to stimuli
and are often sexually exciting.
Highly sensitive means these areas of
the body have a high number of
sensory receptors or nerve endings
that react to stimuli
The Skin- serves as the primary erotic stimulus.
Types of erogenous zone in exists in the skin
Nonspecific type- learned and anticipated
pleasurable sensations when a stimulus is presented
Examples of these types of skin are the sides and
back of the neck, the axilla( armpit, underarm) and
the sides of the thorax (chest)
Specific type- found in the mucocutaneous regions
of the body or those regions made both of mucous
membrane and of cutaneous skin
Specific types sites of acute sensations are the
genital regions, including the prepuce, penis, the
female external genitalia (vulva), the perianal skin,
lips and nipples
Prepuce- retractable fold of skin
covering the tip of the penis
Penis- is a male erectile organ of
copulation by which urine and
semen are discharged from the
body.
Female external genitalia (vulva)
Mon pubis
Clitoris- a female organ that is small, sensitive, and
located in front of the opening of the vagina.
Labia majora- are fleshy lips around the vagina
Labia minora- inner labia, inner lips, vaginal lips or
nymphae are two flaps of skin on either side of the
human vaginal opening in the vulva situated
between the labia majora.
Vaginal introitus- opening that leads to the vaginal
canal
Hymen- membrane that surrounds or partially
covers the external vaginal opening.
Perianal Skin- refers to the area of
the body surrounding the anus
and in particular the skin
Lips- soft, movable, and serve as
the opening for food intake and in
the articulation of sound and
speech.
Nipples- raised region of tissue on
the surface of the beast
 Quiz
 1. SRY ( Sex- determining Region of the Y chromosome )- cascade of chemical reactions
must be present initiated by a single gene in the male chromosome
 2. Erogenous zone- areas of the body that are highly sensitive to stimuli and are often sexually exciting.
 3. Prepuce- retractable fold of skin covering the tip of the penis
 4. The Skin- serves as the primary erotic stimulus.
 5-6. Types of erogenous zone that exists in the skin
 7. Perianal Skin- refers to the area of the body surrounding the anus and in particular the skin
 8. Lips- soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech.
 9. Nipples- raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast
 10. Penis- is a male erectile organ of copulation by which urine and semen are
discharged from the body.
 11. Hymen- membrane that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening.
 12. Labia majora- are fleshy lips around the vagina
 13. Mon pubis
 14. Labia minora- inner labia, inner lips, vaginal lips or nymphae are two flaps of skin on
either side of the human vaginal opening in the vulva situated between the labia
majora.
 15. Female sex is considered the “fundamental” sex because if a particular chemical
prompting is absent, all fertilized eggs will develop into females.
 Understanding the Human Sexual
Response
Sexual response cycle- refers to the sequence of physical and
emotional occurrences when the person is participating in a sexually
stimulating activity such as intercourse or masturbation.

Four phases of the human sexual response cycle:

1. Excitement
2. Plateau
3. Orgasm
4. Resolution

Sex and the Brain, What parts are involved?

Brain- the largest sex organ controlling the biological urges, mental
processes, as well as the emotional and physical responses to sex.
Roles of the brain in sexual activity:
1. The brain is responsible for translating the nerve
impulses sensed by the skin into pleasurable
sensations.
2. It controls the nerves and muscles used in sexual
activities
3. Sexual thoughts and fantasies are theorized to lie
in the cerebral cortex, the same are used for
thinking and reasoning.
4.Emotions and feelings (which are important
sexual behavior) are believed to originate in the
limbic system.
5. The brain releases the hormones considered are
the physiological origin of sexual desire.
Roles of hormones in sexual activity:
• Oxytocin- it is known as the love hormone and
believed to be involved in our desire to maintain
close relationships. It is released during sexual
intercourse when orgasm is achieved.
• Follicle- stimulating hormones (FSH)- it is
responsible for ovulation in females
• Luteinizing hormone (LH)- is crucial in regulating
the testes in men and ovaries in women. The LH
stimulates the testes to produce testosterone.
• Vasopressin- male arousal phase. The increase of
vasopressin during erectile response is believed to
be directly associated with increased motivation
to engage in sexual behavior.
Roles of hormones in sexual activity:
• Estrogen and progesterone- typically regulate
motivation to engage in sexual behavior for females,
with estrogen increasing motivation and progesterone
decreasing it.
Understanding the Chemistry of Lust, Love and
Attachment
Anthropologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University proposed
three stages of falling in love
1. Lust ( erotic passion)
2. Attraction (romantic passion)
3. Attachment (commitment)
Lust
- Driven by testosterone in men and estrogen in
women.
Attraction
- Begin to crave for your partner’s presence
Norepinephrine- responsible for the extra surge of
energy and triggers increased heart rate, loss of
appetite, as well as the desire to sleep.
Dopamine- associated with motivation and goal-
directed behavior
Serotonin- thought to cause obsessive thinking.
Attachment- involves the desire to have lasting
commitment with your significant other.
 Psychological aspect of sexual
desire
Sexual desire- viewed as an interest in
sexual objects or activities.
Gender differences on sexual desire
Factors that influence the notable gender
difference on sexual desire include:
1. Culture
2. Social environment
3. Political situations
 Physiological mechanisms of sexual
behavior motivation
Amygdala- integrative center for
emotions, emotional behavior and
motivation
Nucleus accumbens – (pleasure center)
plays a role in motivation and cognitive
processing of aversion.
 The Diversity of Sexual Behavior
Sexual orientation- defined as an individual’s
general sexual disposition toward partners of
the same sex, the opposite sex, or both
sexes
Gender Identity- refers to one’s sense of being
male or female
Sexual orientation- is a person’s emotional
and erotic attraction toward another
individual.
 What is LGBTQ+?
LGBTQ+ is an umbrella term for a wide spectrum
of gender identities, sexual orientations and
romantic orientations.
L stands for lesbian
G stands for gay
B stands for bisexual
T or Trans*/ Transgender
Q stand queer
+not been identified