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Why Does Beauty Make Me Cry?

Published in Emotion and Beauty 2 mins read

According to the provided reference, feeling sadness when experiencing great beauty is considered an innate emotional response that serves a specific purpose in our understanding of existence.

The Emotional Connection to Beauty and Sadness

The reference suggests that experiencing sadness in the face of great beauty is a common occurrence. This emotional response is tied to a deeper understanding of our human condition.

An Innate Emotional Response

The perspective presented is that this feeling isn't random but rather an innate emotional response. This means it's a natural, inborn reaction rather than something learned or conditioned. It's part of how we are wired as humans.

Seeing a Bigger Picture

A key reason offered for this innate response is that it "helps us to see a bigger, more complete picture of our existence." Experiencing profound beauty, coupled with a feeling of sadness or melancholy, can broaden our perspective beyond the immediate moment or our individual circumstances.

The Role of Loss in Human Experience

The reference links this feeling to the concept of loss. It states, "By ignoring loss or wishing it away, we are surely missing out on an important aspect of being human." The suggestion is that the sadness felt with beauty is connected to acknowledging the transient nature of things, perhaps the fleetingness of the beauty itself, or the awareness that life encompasses both immense beauty and inevitable loss. This acceptance of both aspects is presented as crucial to experiencing a "more complete picture of our existence."

In essence, the sadness felt when encountering beauty, from this viewpoint, is not a detraction from the beauty but an integral part of a deeper, more profound emotional engagement with the world.


Here's a summary of the key points from the reference:

Aspect Description (from reference)
Nature of Response Innate emotional response
Purpose Helps see a bigger, more complete picture of existence
Connection Linked to acknowledging loss as part of human experience

This perspective highlights that such emotional complexity is a vital part of what it means to be human, allowing us to appreciate the full spectrum of life's experiences, including both its beauty and its inherent fragility or loss.