Beauty, a Path to Christ: A Psychological and Neuroscientific Perspective

Abstract

Beauty, a Path to Christ:A Psychological and Neuroscientific Perspective Samantha Mattheiss (bio) and Joseph R. Laracy (bio) Catholic philosophers and theologians, ancient and modern, have described the attractiveness of beauty for centuries, explaining that beauty attracts because it flows from truth; and vice versa—beauty attracts to truth.1 In the patristic era, perhaps no one put it as powerfully as St. Augustine when he wrote, Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had not existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.2 [End Page 149] In the twenty-first century, Pope Benedict XVI, in his homily at the Mass for the Inauguration of his Pontificate stated, "There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God's joy which longs to break into the world."3 Christian writers have further discussed the effects of beauty on the beholder, positing that beauty elicits overall well-being, points to the infinite,4 invites one to engage in the objective experience of beauty,5 and evokes selfless acts of love.6 Given the attractiveness of beauty and its influence in inviting further acts of love, it seems fitting to explore the role of beauty in evangelization. In fact, the Pontifical Council for Culture has proposed that beauty is integral to evangelization: Beginning with the simple experience of the marvel-arousing meeting with beauty, the via pulchritudinis can open the pathway for the search for God, and disposes the heart and spirit to meet Christ, who is the Beauty of Holiness Incarnate, offered by God to men for their salvation. It invites contemporary Augustines, unquenchable seekers of love, truth and beauty, to see through perceptible beauty to eternal Beauty, and with fervor discover Holy God, the author of all beauty.7 As suggested by the Pontifical Council for Culture, beauty can be instrumental in inviting others upon a search for God. Moreover, in consideration of the intersection of faith and science—where truth lies evident not only in ancient Church traditions but also in modern sciences—we might look further at the psychological and physiological reactions elicited by beauty. From a psychological perspective, does beauty truly elicit marvel, pro-social and selfless acts of love, as well as [End Page 150] interest and motivation? Notably so, the field of psychology offers extant evidence of the countless positive effects of beauty. Psychologists have characterized aesthetics across multiple domains, including beautiful landscapes and mathematical theories. They have also noted its effects on physiological human processes. In the following sections of this paper, we discuss physiological evidence for the role of beauty in evangelization. Beauty Defined by Psychologists and Theologians Both theologians and psychologists have wrestled with the essential question: What is beauty? Scholars from both fields have sought to describe the objective features of aesthetic stimuli. Theologians have identified both the objective and subjective properties of beauty: "Two elements would enter into an account of the beautiful—the form of some object, and the splendor with which it strikes the beholder."8 Hans Urs von Balthasar names these two elements, like St. Thomas Aquinas, species (or forma) and lumen (or splendor).9 Theologians, in sum, often refer to the experience of the beauty of Christ...