Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Comenius · 02-24-2002, 07:03 PM

Anybody can describe a beautiful body. Hey, check out the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue if you want to get some ideas. However, it is much more difficult to describe a beautiful soul.

So, please describe what a beautiful soul would look and act like and why (the "why" being understood according to your personal moral foundations and principles - that's why I think this is the appropriate forum for this thread).

You are, of course, free to come up with your own definition of "soul" but here's how Webster's Ninth New College Dictionary defines soul:
"the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life."

Comenius

tronvillain · 02-24-2002, 08:08 PM

Well, if we're going to use that definition, I'm going to have to say that there's no such thing as a beautiful soul.

PopeInTheWoods · 02-25-2002, 08:48 AM

On the plus side, there's no such thing as an ugly soul either.

bonduca · 02-25-2002, 11:29 AM

But I have been known to enjoy a nice filet of sole.

Ms. Siv · 02-25-2002, 11:28 PM

Um ... dont we have to first believe that such a thing as a soul exists, before we wax eloquent about beautiful souls and such ?

- Sivakami.

Eudaimonist · 02-26-2002, 10:09 AM

Assuming that "soul" means something along the lines of personality or style of life, I'd say the following, purely off the top of my head:

Beauty, it seems to me, is created by the harmonious integration of parts. A physically beautiful woman, for instance, is well-proportioned in face and body. This is a tentative understanding of beauty -- perhaps incomplete -- but I'll go with this just to get the dialectic started.

So what is "inner beauty"? A harmonious integration of inner qualities of character. A beautiful person is not obviously conflicted (has a coherent set of values), and performs moral acts with grace (in the right way, at the right times, for the right reasons, with the right motivations, etc). This reveals to others a kind of beauty of self.

Can anyone improve on this?

three4jump · 02-26-2002, 12:18 PM

Not me!

Well said.

Comenius · 02-26-2002, 07:08 PM

Quite eloquently said, Eudaimonia.

If a beautiful soul is a well-proportioned and well-ordered soul, then what is the greatest act (based on the "harmonious integration of inner qualities") that this soul can perform?

What specific qualities make one soul beautiful and another one not-beautiful? Can these qualities exist in a random, disordered universe?

tronvillain · 02-26-2002, 08:53 PM

In other words, what one considers a "beautiful soul" is completely subjective.

Pomp · 02-26-2002, 09:42 PM

tronvillain,

In other words, what one considers a "beautiful soul" is completely subjective.

Exactly. I happen to find tragic character flaws (jarring elements out of sync with a "harmonious soul," in other words) beautiful.

Am I wrong somehow?

02-24-2002, 07:03 PM	#1
Comenius Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 23	What is a beautiful soul? Anybody can describe a beautiful body. Hey, check out the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue if you want to get some ideas. However, it is much more difficult to describe a beautiful soul. So, please describe what a beautiful soul would look and act like and why (the "why" being understood according to your personal moral foundations and principles - that's why I think this is the appropriate forum for this thread). You are, of course, free to come up with your own definition of "soul" but here's how Webster's Ninth New College Dictionary defines soul: "the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life." Comenius

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02-24-2002, 08:08 PM	#2
tronvillain Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 5,658	Well, if we're going to use that definition, I'm going to have to say that there's no such thing as a beautiful soul.

02-25-2002, 08:48 AM	#3
PopeInTheWoods Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Rochester NY USA Posts: 4,318	On the plus side, there's no such thing as an ugly soul either.

02-25-2002, 11:29 AM	#4
bonduca Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: . Posts: 1,653	But I have been known to enjoy a nice filet of sole.

02-25-2002, 11:28 PM	#5
Ms. Siv Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: India Posts: 2,340	Um ... dont we have to first believe that such a thing as a soul exists, before we wax eloquent about beautiful souls and such ? - Sivakami.

02-26-2002, 10:09 AM	#6
Eudaimonist Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Sundsvall, Sweden Posts: 3,159	Assuming that "soul" means something along the lines of personality or style of life, I'd say the following, purely off the top of my head: Beauty, it seems to me, is created by the harmonious integration of parts. A physically beautiful woman, for instance, is well-proportioned in face and body. This is a tentative understanding of beauty -- perhaps incomplete -- but I'll go with this just to get the dialectic started. So what is "inner beauty"? A harmonious integration of inner qualities of character. A beautiful person is not obviously conflicted (has a coherent set of values), and performs moral acts with grace (in the right way, at the right times, for the right reasons, with the right motivations, etc). This reveals to others a kind of beauty of self. Can anyone improve on this?

02-26-2002, 12:18 PM	#7
three4jump Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Useless Bay Posts: 1,434	Not me! Well said.

02-26-2002, 07:08 PM	#8
Comenius Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 23	Quite eloquently said, Eudaimonia. If a beautiful soul is a well-proportioned and well-ordered soul, then what is the greatest act (based on the "harmonious integration of inner qualities") that this soul can perform? What specific qualities make one soul beautiful and another one not-beautiful? Can these qualities exist in a random, disordered universe?

02-26-2002, 08:53 PM	#9
tronvillain Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 5,658	In other words, what one considers a "beautiful soul" is completely subjective.

02-26-2002, 09:42 PM	#10
Pomp Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Indianapolis area Posts: 3,468	tronvillain, In other words, what one considers a "beautiful soul" is completely subjective. Exactly. I happen to find tragic character flaws (jarring elements out of sync with a "harmonious soul," in other words) beautiful. Am I wrong somehow?

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