Why do we perceive beauty that is not beneficial?

For example when you see a raibow, it is beauty yet does it benefit you?





Or a Waterfall, a beautiful bird, the Aurora Borealis





Why do we find such appreciation for things that do not help us at all?





What part of us is it that craves nourishment through witnessing beauty, even when it is seemingly useless?Why do we perceive beauty that is not beneficial?
just one of those things that's part of being human i suppose. hmmm...well, birds like shiny things, too.Why do we perceive beauty that is not beneficial?
human like moving colors....
Experiencing beauty is *always* beneficial, especially for the soul. To think/feel that something that has no ';monetary, material'; ';value'; is not beneficial is a fairly dysfunctional attitude, at least to those of us who have successfully resisted being brainwashed by the psychopaths who ';set'; the ';standards'; :)))
We have values that help us make our decisions. If we didn't have these values than we couldn't make decisions. For example, we wouldn't be able to choose which house to buy, or choose which person to marry.





We still have these values even when we do not have a choice to make about something. In analogy, I don't forget how to drive when I'm not in a car.
Do you ask this question from an evolutionist point of view ? If so beauty ';must'; be ';for'; something, so useless beauty should tend to disappear ... which is what we help to do when we pollute our planet.


On the other hand a waterfall is certainly useful to provide fish with a lot of oxygen, for example so it is useful to something. The fact that we -and birds etc.- find it beautiful is a by-product of our education.


This is complicated to explain in a few words.
Dunno - but I saw the bird in your avatar in real life recently and I was absolutely gob-smacked!
You've used examples from nature to describe beauty: Waterfall, bird, Northern Lights. These aren't useless, they remind us of where were from and how tranquil and relaxing it was to be there. Until some crocodile or tiger fancied having us for dinner, that is.





The part of us that craves the most is the part of us that knows it can't have. Bet you live in the city and have a hectic life.
Beauty is not useless at all, as witnessed by your pretty avatar picture. We appreciate the beauty because it reminds us that we're just small wheels spinning 'round something bigger and also, happily, pretty. It can be very ugly, too, which we see even more often, so the pretty sights are pointed out and exclaimed over. Why not?
I think beauty DOES benifit us... I feel, myself, that its a useful thing because it makes us appreciate things more. Seeing a rainbow makes me feel well and happy; a waterfall birds etc also make me feel glad to be alive, and glad to be able to see them... I have no clue WHY this is so, I just know it is...





I think the part of us that craves this is our heart and soul.





Without beauty to behold, I think our total existance would be mundane, boring and shallow. There'd be no joy in life..in the world...Am I being silly here? Im sorry if you think I am, its how I feel...





Im glad I can see. Im glad there are beautiful things around me all the time. Sometimes if you had / have a near death experience or a close shave at death such as a car accident, or similar; you can start to see natures things for the first time ever (cos that's the effect it can have) It can really open your eyes and give you a new lease of life in general.


OR


when you go through dark periods in your life, seeing something wonderful like a rainbow (I mean, where do the colours come from..no-one said god had paint!) can make so much difference to your outlook.


Music also does this for me..If Im down, and I listen to certain types of music, it uplifts me...Im totally not a religious person, Indeed I dont believe in God at all, but I really do think that nature uplifts the soul...all beautiful things do...


I believe that if we all surround ourselves with things that we find beautiful, in our homes and our lives in general, that we will always feel good about stuff, never get the reason to feel down or suicidal, and I think that would be perfect... everyone happy,,,, what a great place the world would be
Sadists %26amp; Masochists find beauty in mistreatment. Doesn't mean they grab a pack of aspirin in case it all goes horribly wrong. We are all very sick.
Instinctually, almost as a side effect of our intelligence, human's seek order and patterns. They comfort us by giving us some sense of permanence and security. I think this is at the root of our lust for beauty.
Why do we (not me) cheer a home run hit into the top deck - it doesn't score any more runs than a fly ball, that's caught by the wind %26amp; limps over the fence.





It's all subjective. We all have tastes and many of them don't benefit the individual or the species.





How else do you explain people supporting the Arizona Cardinals ?
i think we should not always think od benefit or loss... our mind wants relax... but today we all busy with our own stuff....


and every human being love to see these beautiful things and this natural beauty doesn't think whether its getting benefit when we see them.... :)


so just enjoy... why to mess with these kinda thoughts
Perhaps it is something to do with our brains wanting us to be happy, and finding things that make us happy. I wonder if the concept of beauty is unique to humans or if some animals feel it too?
probably because we feel calm, it's something strange it's true, but nature's strange anyway:)
beauty does benefit us but not according to your definition of benefit. i feel happy when i see a rainbow, for one thing.
I think those come from the sense of awe. An awe of how it blows your mind. You can't even imagine how much water goes over Niagra Falls, and how fast. You can't imagine being it. It's efficiency. It's differentness.