What Secondary Beauty Is—and Why It Is Not True Virtue | Jonathan Edwards

Deep Dive into The Nature of True Virtue by Jonathan Edwards - Concerning the Secondary and Inferior Kind of BeautyJonathan Edwards distinguishes between two distinct types of beauty: primary or true beauty, and secondary or natural beauty. Primary beauty is the true beauty of moral agents, consisting of a cordial agreement, union of mind, or benevolent consent of being to being. This spiritual and divine beauty fundamentally represents true virtue.In contrast, secondary beauty is an inferior form found in both material and immaterial things. It consists of mutual agreement, uniformity, proportion, and harmony among various parts, such as the sides of a geometric shape, the notes of a musical tune, or the matching pillars of a building. This type of beauty is also observable in abstract concepts like justice, wisdom, or societal order, where different elements harmoniously fit together to serve a common design.God established a natural law and human instinct that makes secondary beauty aesthetically pleasing because it serves as an analogy or image of true spiritual beauty. However, when people appreciate this natural beauty, they are simply reacting to this innate instinct rather than consciously perceiving its underlying resemblance to spiritual virtue. For example, a person can easily enjoy the melody of a song without understanding the exact mathematical proportions of the sound vibrations that create it.Crucially, Edwards argues that the disposition to appreciate secondary beauty has nothing to do with true virtue or holiness. A person's delight in the symmetry of a building or musical harmony does not increase in proportion to their moral goodness. Consequently, some moralists have erroneously mistaken the natural appreciation of proportion and harmony for a truly virtuous principle. While justice contains natural proportion, true virtue is rooted solely in a higher benevolence to being in general.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730