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I have been struggling to define beauty since our group conversation on Thursday, as I feel it parallels the whole "why are there mutations" vs. "what is a mutation/what are the consequences of mutation" argument we approached during the first sectional discussion. This is more difficult though, as beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder (I'm not trying to be corny here). I can define how I determine the difference between something beautiful and something else, I can name a million different things that I find "beautiful," I can even explain how a taste can be beautiful (much like any sight or sound) despite it's tangibility (we came to the conclusion that most beautiful things are the subject of perception). However, to define beauty is to negate the thought that most beautiful things cannot be categorized under any other title.

For example: A flower is beautiful, a woman's voice is beautiful. What unites them besides beauty? OK, so maybe a few things have connections, but my point is that somewhere there are two beautiful things that share NO relation, each is a product of a random combination of random events that led to random molecules joining together in some sense...

Here is what everyone I've asked has said to me in response to my inquiry:

"Define Beauty"

"of what?"

"Beauty"

"Of a person or of a thing?"

"Beauty. Just beauty in itself, without a physical context with which to apply it"

"Oh, that's hard."

The closest I can get to a proper definition is "Beauty is finding happiness," for everything that is beautiful seems to make someone happy, somewhere. However, as mentioned earlier, this brings us back to the argument faced when discussing why mutations exist: "That is a consequence of beauty, a result of being in beauties presence. WHAT is beauty?"

I have no idea, and I think that makes beauty more beautiful.