Art and beauty were the topics for this weeks reading and video presentation. These are two of the most abstract things in our society as they are universal yet can take on so many forms. Denis Dutton addressed one of the major philosophical questions, “what is beauty?” in his TED talk. Dutton discussed how as a species, humans have always appreciated things of beauty. Dutton comes to the conclusion that “we [humans] find beauty in something done well.” He looks back on our ancestors, the first humans and found that even then our species appreciated something that took time and craftsmanship to make. Those skills made you a particularly suitable mate and worked in the process of natural selection. The artifacts that have been found are small hand axes and have little wear on their edges indicating they were not used for hunting but rather as a piece of art work.

I found this intriguing because I do not think of the evolution of art until the Renaissance when art really began to flourish and some of the most well-known, classic paintings were created. I believe that art really thrives in times of technological, societal, cultural, and social change. Today, technology has given us the ability to create photographs, drawings, paintings, music, theater, and mixed media art and then share that art with a huge audience via the Internet.

Despite my beliefs, I do see why Dutton claims that art is an innate ability we have engrained into our mind through generations and the evolution of our species. Darwin’s theory of natural selection surprisingly plays a key role in the development of art and there’s no doubt that art and the appreciation of beauty is a part of who we are as a species.

To watch Denis’ TED Talk click here.