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Not All That Glitters Is Gold: Beauty in Proportion to Personality

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPRM chapter.

Beauty originates from different systematic and evolutionary observations. In its whole, it is a concept that augments or decreases in accordance to its context. In its simplest components, physical beauty can be centralized in Pythagoras symmetry, which suggests that mathematics is inherent in the observation and appreciation of beauty. However, Aristotle distinguished beauty from an angle of virtue, which we can conceptually link to an individual’s personality and emphasize positive qualities that go beneath the skin in order to be perceived as beautiful.

A key to defining beauty can be observed at either point. Under the school of Pythagoras exists the Golden Ratio, which indicates that beauty is recognized according to the proportion and relationship between the lines that compose our core features, without any feature dominating another. Modern day studies also highlight the consistency amongst varied cultures to feel attraction towards symmetrical faces.

 

Having perfectly aligned facial features doesn’t guarantee you’ll be perceived as the biggest fish in the sea though, especially if you’re a “Class A Jerk”. Aristotle said that beauty was a study of virtue according to a midpoint. In his theory, Aristotle sought a balance between extremes, suggesting that no one can indulge in excess without suffering from deficiency. To put it simply, you can’t be vain and humble simultaneously, but you can aim for a midpoint (like self-loving, perhaps?) which in turn reflects on your personality.

 

Several studies support the idea that “if you want to enhance your physical attractiveness, become a valuable social partner”. Even where physical attraction doesn’t primarily exist, there are not-so-rare occasions in which it spontaneously blooms. Positive personality traits is the key to sparking that fire. In conclusion, beauty is an observational study that includes context behind the bases. However, each observation is intrinsic and empirical, stating that every individual experience defines the feeling of every type of beauty. 

Valentina Pinci is a fourth year Psychology student at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez.
Her Campus at UPRM