This begins a series of blogs based on Timothy Patisas’s book, The Ethics of Beauty. [1] Philosophers categorize the world into three domains: epistemology, the study of what we can know about the nature of truth (The True); ethics, the examination of the nature of goodness and how we should act (The Good); and aesthetics, the exploration of beauty (Beauty). Western civilization has tended to emphasize truth and what we can know, and it has treated the good and the beautiful as secondary characteristics. The position taken in the ethics of beauty is that this is wrong-headed.
Indications of the Importance of Beauty
To determine whether the author is right, we have to ask the question, “Is there any evidence that indicates that it might be true?” I think there is. For example, mathematicians and physicists often view the beauty and elegance of an equation as indicative of its truth. One of the reasons why quantum physics and relativity theory gained acceptance is the sheer beauty and elegance of the mathematics involved.
Another indication might be the study of beauty itself. There have been a considerable number of studies of human beauty, many of which have looked at the symmetries that often characterize human beauty among cultures. Lost in this analysis is the fact that we already knew this person was beautiful before we understood mathematics or the science of that beauty.
From an ethical perspective, the ethics of beauty emphasizes the aesthetic beauty of the good life and suggests that beauty comes first. Once again, to provide an example, there’s something beautiful about the life of Mother Teresa. We could list all the good things she did, analyze the wise advice she shared throughout her life, and examine the ministries she established. However, somehow, we recognized her life as beautiful before we learned all those details. Beauty preceded goodness.
Challenge to the Enlightenment
Beginning with Plato, Aristotle, and the early Greek philosophers, Western civilization has been deeply interested in the question of truth. During the Middle Ages, the primary question was the nature of religious truth. In the modern world, the primary question has been the nature of material or scientific truth. Since the Enlightenment, Western civilization has been inclined to view. Scientific truth is somehow privileged over all other forms of truth. What Patisas calls “The Beauty First Approach” represents an alternative to modern thinking. It privileges beauty over scientific truth.
In his argument, Patisis draws from Western literature, architectural theory, orthodox theology, Wendell Berry’s works, and other sources. I believe he makes a compelling case. Focusing on beauty, aesthetics, and harmony may provide us with a clue about how to escape the deadening moral decay associated with the decline of the modern world and the avant-garde decorators in some forms of postmodernism.
The Greeks used the word eros, from which we get our word “erotic,” to describe that kind of love that is evoked by the attractiveness of that which we love. I like to say that erotic love is not sexual primarily, though it includes sexual love; it’s an evoked love. The beauty of the beloved evokes in us love. For example, if I love a painting, the beauty of the painting evokes that love. If I love a particular scientific theory, it’s the beauty and fruitfulness of that theory that evokes my love. If I love a specific form of life, it’s the beauty and attractiveness of that form of life that captures my desire. In other words, Beauty First.
The Religious Basis
During my pastoral years, there was a praise song that we used to sing quite a bit. It was called “Beautiful One”
Wonderful, so wonderful is Your unfailing love
Your cross has spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart could fully know
How glorious, how beautiful You are
Beautiful one, I love You
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing
Powerful, so powerful, Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see, beautiful
The beauty of Your majesty awakes my heart to see
How marvelous, how wonderful You are
Beautiful one, I love You
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing
Beautiful one, I love You
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing
You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You, Jesus
You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You
Beautiful one, I love You
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing
Beautiful one, I love You
Beautiful one, I adore
Beautiful one, my soul must sing
And You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You. [2]
This Christian praise song beautifully illustrates the point that the author is trying to make in The Ethics of Beauty. It also gives us a clue as to what is sometimes wrong with Christian evangelism and discipleship: We fail to emphasize God’s beauty and the beautiful life Christians are called to live. This is a point lost on me for a great deal of my Christian life and discipleship.
When I’m in Austin, Texas, I have the opportunity to visit a rapidly growing, vital Eastern Orthodox congregation. My wife and I are not Orthodox, and getting used to their worship took us a while. Nevertheless, having been to several worship services by now, we’ve learned that some things the Reformers criticized about Orthodoxy are subject to question. For example, when you enter an Orthodox church, you’re surrounded by icons of Christ, Mary, his mother, the apostles, and the church saints. These icons are beautiful. Much of the service is sung in a kind of rhythmic chanting. The responses are beautiful. The entire liturgy of the service is designed to create a sense of the holiness of God in his transcendent beauty. Instead of emphasizing the Cross and the sacrifice of Christ, the focus is placed upon the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ. In other words, the beauty of the resurrected Christ sits at the center of the service. In other words, the orthodox worship service takes a Beauty First approach to God.
Conclusion
In the next few weeks, I will post several blogs, teasing out the implications of a Beauty First approach to life. Interestingly, a beauty approach to life has much to say about how we should live. It has something to say about what is good and what is true. It also has something to say about the societies we should try to build. It has something to say about the ugliness of war. It has something to say about the kind of houses we should build and the kind of cities we should try to create. It has something to say about how one overcomes psychological trauma. It has something to say about the ugliness of war. It has something to say about how one overcomes psychological trauma. I hope readers enjoy the blogs.
Copyright 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved
[1] Tomothy Patisis, The Ethics of Beauty (Maryville, MO: St. Nicholas Press, 2020). The ethics of beauty is a long book, almost 750 pages, and somewhat challenging to follow for a layperson. I will try to unpack the importance of its ideas for laypersons. I do not recommend it for those unwilling to read a book on ethics from an Eastern Orthodox perspective.
[2] Jeremy Camp, Beautiful One Released by Encounter Worship (2008).