For ears to hear the heavenly harmonies;
For eyes to see the unseen in the seen;
For vision of the Worker in the work;
For hearts to apprehend Thee everywhere;
We thank Thee, Lord!
Sufficient has been said in the previous articles of this series to show that not one of the theories of evolution which have been put forward is based on a solid foundation of fact, and all are entirely unsatisfactory when examined from the view-point of probability. They are even more helpless as an explanation when we consider the origin of beauty, because beauty cannot be classed as a material thing, rather is it a mental, or perhaps even a spiritual phenomenon. Some, indeed, might argue that beauty of shape or composition is material, but the actual impression of such shape received by the retina of the eye is analysed according to the mental outlook of the individual; one may gasp with winder at what he believes is a beautiful landscape, whereas at his side, another may be completely unmoved, his mental equipment is beauty-blind.
As to the reason why any mind should appreciate form or colour as beautiful, evolution is silent. Feeble attempts have been made from time to time to explain it, the usual suggestion being that the forerunner of man associated bright colours with certain edible fruits and thus with the feeling of satisfaction which their consumption produced; later, when his mental powers had developed considerably, the sight of any bright colours (whether connected with food or not) produced this satisfied feeling. Because of this we appreciate the beauty of a sunset! That any theory should be reduced to such absurd tactics is proof that there is something wrong somewhere. Quite apart from its biological impossibility, this theory does not explain beauty of form and symmetry, nor the beauty of sound; neither has it any explanation as to why the eye, ear, and brain are so co-ordinated with the impulses affecting them as to produce the wide range of colours and sounds of which beauty is mainly built.
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Author: D. A. B. Owen
Keywords: Evolution, Evolved, Evolve, Man evolved, life evolved, evolution of life, evolution of man, Evolution of the species, creationism, Theory of evolution, fossils, fossil record, evolutionism, Intelligent design, mimicry, natural selection, Darwinism, Charles Darwin, Symmetry
Bible reference(s): Gen 1, Gen 2:1-2, Gen 2:5, Gen 2:7, Gen 2:19, Neh 9:6, Job 9:8, Job 37:16, Psa 8:3, Psa 14:1, Psa 19:1, Psa 33:6, Psa 90:2, Psa 102:25, Ecc 3:11, Isa 40:12, Isa 42:5, Isa 44:24, Isa 45:12, Isa 45:18, Isa 48:13, Jer 51:15, 1Co 15:39, Heb 1:10, Heb 11:3
Source: “Beauty and Chance,” The Testimony, Vol. 6, No. 71, November 1936, pp. 425-30.
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