Free Argumentative Essay About Beauty Is A Promise Of Happiness

Beauty is a word that is nearly impossible to universally define as it is subjective. The idea of beauty or what is beautiful changes with time, cultures, and even with each individual person. One thing that is true is that each person’s ideal of beauty is based upon their very personal experiences in life. When Nehamas quotes Stendhal saying “beauty is a promise of happiness” he has a specific point he is trying to make. Since beauty is a subjective concept, each person attaches a different ideal to beauty. These ideals probably link to something happy in a person’s life. An example would be a person who is sitting inside their office, tired, and looks outside their window to see a beautiful sunset. In that sunset they see the promise of something more. Perhaps it is the promise of going home to their family soon, or the promise of the end of a bad day and getting to put it behind them and start over.
No matter what the object is that one sees as beautiful, we have all experienced that feeling of peace and tranquility overwhelm us. Personally, one of the most beautiful things in the world is a newborn child. No matter what I am in the middle of, when I am out and about and see a newborn something inside me just feels peaceful. In that newborn is the promise of happiness, the promise of change and new experiences. Because of my life experiences, I attach beauty to a newborn child. Each form of beauty is like that. It contains a promise of happiness that is unique and hopeful to the individual experiencing it.