Aesthetics and morals: do we morally prefer what we perceive as beautiful?

2 min read

 rumi-butterfly-metaphor-meme

 

Of course, cockroaches transmit diseases and, as such, are not the best example when we weigh their existence with that of butterflies. But let's leave this variable aside for a moment. It is much more about disgust and we could also cite a larger spider as a contra against the butterfly instead of the cockroach. The spider could also trigger primal fears in humans, which is probably much less likely to be the case with a butterfly. But what does the respective species have to do with our fears and disgusts? A child who kills a butterfly would seem more peculiar to us than a child who, for example, squashes a spider as proof of his bravery in front of his friends?

The picture shows the Persian poet, philosopher and Sufi master Rumi. His works prominently feature the idea that God's creation is to be worshipped as a whole. Aesthetic criteria or human cognition should therefore not play a role in whether another species frightens or disgusts us, although this is of course also part of the human being, and thus part of the divine creation.

The central concept of his work, however, remains love for this very creation. Accordingly, it would be to be rejected at all to kill animals without necessity, thus e.g. a spider which finds its way into our house because there are flies to catch. Maybe it is even more difficult to love the representatives of the own species as a whole, but no matter if animal or human, in Rumi this is formulated as a way and challenge for each of us. A way to measure oneself against, which nowadays harmonizes great with the "trend" to transcend one's own ego.


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