Abstract
For centuries, it has been recognized that beauty can move. My aim in this paper is to understand how beauty moves. One suggestion is that beauty moves in a causal way, for example, by causing us to have certain feelings. Four objections to this suggestion are considered, but none is found convincing in the light of how causation tends to be understood. Moreover, it turns out that there is positive reason for thinking that beauty is causally efficacious, not just once it has been experienced, as John Hyman has suggested, but even in bringing about the experience on which all other effects of beauty depend.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 21 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Philosophers' Imprint |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2025 |
Bibliographical note
For helpful questions and comments, I am grateful to Paisley Livingston, Jiji Zhang, an anonymous referee, and audiences at Huaqiao University and Lingnan University.Publisher Copyright:
© 2025, Rafael De Clercq.
Keywords
- Beauty
- Causal Power
- Naturalism
- Causal impotence
- Theories of causation
- Causal efficacy
- Instrinsic value