Why does beauty matter? A thread...

Both of these are in Vienna - a city so fond of its spring water supply that sublime fountains have been its great pride... until now.

But what actually is beauty? How can we say that one fountain is uglier than the other?

Thomas Aquinas defined it as “that which, upon being seen, pleases.”

We now know he was right - the same part of the brain that deals with pleasure (like eating a delicious meal) also processes beauty.

Beauty is what connects our lives with the eternal. It orients our cultural efforts toward something beyond ourselves.

And that keeps us striving, healthy, and united.