Question of the Week: Is Beauty Evidence for God’s Existence?
When it comes to arguments for the existence of God, the ones you hear most often are things like the beginning of the Universe or the fine tuning of it to support life. However, research has been done and continues to be done into another aspect of Creation that requires there to be a Creator. If it can be established that beauty isn’t a subjective opinion, but as Plato described a foundational concept like Truth and Goodness, then it too can be used to give a reason for the hope that is in us regarding the reality of God. While it’s often easy to dismiss this with the slogan “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” the reality may be the opposite. In order to properly understand this argument, it is first important to give credit where it is due. The work of Alexander R. Pruss and Dr. Phillip Tallon have popularized and are working to perfect this argument. However, where it stands now is gaining more and more traction among the philosophically minded.
Claim #1: In order to make something beautiful; Skill, Talent, Effort, and Intent are required.
-No artist stumbles on a masterpiece. Function in of itself isn’t beautiful by definition. These characteristics (Skill, Talent, and Intent) are things that only exist in a conscious mind. If the Universe is beautiful, then that requires there to be a being with the Skill, Talent, and Effort required to make it so pleasing to the eye.
Claim #2: Man can see, appreciate, and create beautiful things.
-Man’s artistic endeavors have no evolutionary or survival-based benefit. It is something that is a part of our nature regardless of the fact that it can lead to significant personal risk or loss. That begs the question why something like appreciation for beauty became a part of our nature if it can’t be naturally explained.
Claim #3: Beauty is objective.
-Having an immature or under-developed perspective doesn’t make something less beautiful. You can have a majority of people with the opinion that 2+2=5 and the objective reality wouldn’t change. We may be able to perceive and appreciate certain aspects of beauty more than others, but it remains an objective part of something by definition.
Conclusion: Beauty, when properly understood and defined, demonstrates the existence of a personal, conscious, and creative Creator.
For more explanations on how this argument works, please listen to the explanations below:
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