Dreams

I had a dream this night about my perfect man. I can't remember all the details, but he was tall, dark and scruffy, and taught me how to crack safes. I wonder what my subconscious is trying to tell me. On the other hand, who cares!

The World as I have Found It-Desire

Aesthetics- the question of the desirable, the attractive, the compelling, the beautiful.
I am always at a loss to set down a comprehensive explanation for the topic (perhaps all the better) but I might propose here some hypotheses.

Desire- is proportional to the perception and the tension. That's all. It's that simple. Of course, just those words alone makes nonsense, so I'll elaborate.

Focusing on sensual or erotic desire, for its commonality and intuitiveness, I would say the crux of it is what you perceive to be attractive and the tension in attaining/possessing it. An attractive photo of a person, a person, a model, any of these things, is dependent upon you as a viewer- it does not have an inherent property of beauty, only a commonality of taste. (Here is in truth my largest statement. I make no claim to evidence besides my own anecdotal evidence, but I say it thus anyway). Desire, and indeed, all aesthetics, is and must be utterly subjective.

Body type is a sub-example of this- I myself am greatly attracted to the "jock" archetype of image. There are a number of Freudian questions I have about the origins of this attraction, but the fact remains that it is still an image, that upon seeing, usually impels me to desire. Naturally, women, of whatever beauty mean nothing or next to, in this same way.

Tension, the other half, is more properly expanded to be part of the tension/release cycle of pleasure. Desire-tossing this out here, mind you- is the mind seeking the pleasure, a pleasure which can be increased by increasing the tension accordingly. R.E."What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly".

An example of tension/release can be seen in the study of orgasm- having only subjective experience in this, my statistical base is severely limited, but may be insightful anyway. Although the analogy may be stressed, take note- The longer one delays, or is delayed in achieving orgasm, the more powerful the wave of pleasure afterwards is. Similar effects are expectation of a purchase, vacation, and the achievement of this thing.

Point- By whatever method the mind uses to goad oneself on, tension and pleasure can be...separated, in a way. Desire can become associated with the tension of expectation, and never actually require it be released- though it may become a strained and shaky hold after time without release. (See videogame hype and results)

Aside- The separating point between forms of art (e.g. "modern" and "classic") exists at the point where the art serves the desire+tension mechanism and where it serves to conscious mind, (e.g.- reshaping the "room" to where it is no longer a room)

Returning to my wandering train of thought, I wonder, without certain result, where exactly fashion fits into this schema. I find, when looking at some elements of fashion, an undeniable and quite compelling draw, without any obvious focus. Certain outfits, particularly designer outfits, seem to be following something my mind can follow like a scent, but not as a name, and I know they do some sort of thing in their work, but I know not what. It is not empty, though, and is unworthy of complaints of shallowness.

I say beauty is subjective, dependent on what we are predisposed to desire, and increases in magnitude only insofar as we think it does.