I recently became aware of a new book that got my brain juices flowing: Beauty by Roger Scruton. From a recent review:
We miss the point if we think that beauty in art or literature or music has finished its job when it provides pleasure. Scruton argues, reasonably, that beauty also makes ethical demands on us. Its existence challenges us to "renounce our narcissism and look with reverence on the world."
Kitsch encourages us to dwell on our own satisfactions and anxieties; it tells us to be pleased with what we have always felt and known. It reaches us at the level where we are easiest to please, a level requiring a minimum of mental effort.
Beauty, on the other hand, demands we consider its meaning. It implies a larger world than the one we deal with every day. Even for those with no religious belief, it suggests the possibility of transcendence. Faith has declined in much of the West, but "art bears enduring witness to the spiritual hunger and immortal longings of our species." As one reviewer has already pointed out, Scruton's "perspective is religious without belief."
I'm very interested in the subject by itself, but I'm also curious how Scruton's book might be discussed in terms of Mormon literature, music, and art. As we know, Mormons love kitsch. Does Mormon kitsch encourage a sort of spiritual narcissim? Does it inspire us to "dwell on our own satisfactions?" Is that why kitsch, though ironic and playful, is empty of belief and ultimately uninspiring? And on the other hand, what would quality as Mormon "beauty?"
I'm gonna get my hands on Scruton's book and if I come up with any thoughts, you'll be the first to hear.
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