ABSTRACT
Varied views as to the meaning o f beauty. T he psychologist who discusses the appreciation of beauty is faced w ith two difficulties a t the outset. First, such diverse views have been taken by philosophers as to w hat is beauty. I t has been defined as that which gives us ‘stable pleasure’, ‘delight in m ere contem plation5, the ‘expression o f any feeling5, or ‘tha t which is true to na tu re5, and so on. T o settle the philosophical disputes as to beauty is not the psychologist5s task, though he m ay contribute a good deal to some of them .1 W e m ust be content to start w ith the assum ption th a t most people regard as beautiful certain things - a view of a wood or m ountain, a poem, a picture, a musical composition; or a t least they love to look a t or hear them . S tarting w ith these facts, we can then try to find the psychological natu re of the experience when a person is enjoying w hat is, a t least for him , beautiful.
