“Beauty surrounds us, but we must learn to see it.” -Rumi In its most literal sense, beauty is defined as the pleasant visual aspect of objects which makes these objects enjoyable to see. These objects may include nature, humans, landscapes and artistic works of art. Beauty, along with personal taste and aesthetic awareness, is perhaps the most significant part of aesthetic philosophy, among the various branches of applied philosophy.

In its most original and influential form, however, the beauty was nothing more than a subjective view of beauty as it appeared to the beholder. The appearance of beauty in this sense rested entirely on personal criteria and did not depend on any objective standard. In the late modern and early twentieth century, aesthetic appraisals of beauty began to take the form of an empirical study of beauty. This was a development which bore an uncanny resemblance to the earlier cultural appraisals of beauty which were based largely on a subjective standard of beauty. Modernists like Leo Tolstoy criticized the aesthetic process as having a materialistic bias and they charged the traditionalists with having a vulgar and materialistic understanding of beauty. In the later twentieth century, however, the field was taken over by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger who denied that beauty could be reduced to anything objective or definitive.

Beauty, according to Heidegger, is simply the totality of being and the ability to be – i.e., the awareness of having the potential for becoming. According to Heidegger, beauty is therefore nothing more than the formless essence of total being. Because beauty is nothing else but the formless essence of Being, it may be compared to the diamond in the rough because the diamond has no definite shape, color or polish and because it exists in space, can exist in multiple forms throughout the entire universe. A diamond, according to Heidegger, is nothing but a void in the middle of multiplicity and thus it may be said that beauty is absolute. Heidegger thus equates beauty with being and beauty with the potential for becoming – something like the Potentiality that everything possesses and with which we may always try to become ourselves.

According to Dietrich Von Steuben, the beauty-lover’s pursuit of beauty lies mainly in discovering himself to be beautiful. Though he admitted that he had his personal beauty and that others were simply envious of it, he insisted that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and that beauty lies in looking rather than feeling. According to Von Steuben, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder – something like the famous quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “I only look at things that I see in myself.”

Perhaps beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, something that may be subjective and perhaps not easily classified or quantified. What one person finds beautiful may be completely different from another. Beauty also may be defined differently by different people. For instance, some may find beauty in a stone, a rose, a butterfly or in a smile. Others, on the other hand, may view beauty more in terms of lines, in facial features or symmetry.

For Dietrich Von Steuben, the true beauty lies in finding one’s own beauty and there is nothing else. Others may point out that beauty is subjective, depending on the observer, but the beauty-lover always knows and has faith that he possesses it. To him, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is nothing else. And to others, no matter how hard they try, they cannot find beauty in a flower, a coin or in words.

Health Disadvantage Groups – Exploring the Nation’s Health Needs With an Interdisciplinary Approach

Health is a state of total physical, mental and emotional well-being where infirmity and illness are absent. Many different definitions have been employed over the years for health. Some refer to it as the quality of life, while others talk about morbidity, indicating morbidity or mortality rates. There is no clear-cut definition of what health is. Rather, it is the state of relative well being with its various components equivalent to the quality of life.

The concept of health has often been viewed as synonymous with physical well being. However, health is a complex concept and there is a great deal of difference between the concepts. Physical health is comprised of the absence of diseases, a condition where the body is disease free, and physical capacities that allow an individual to engage in everyday life without limitation or danger. Mental health, on the other hand, is comprised of the presence of mental capacities that contribute to an individual’s ability to live an active and satisfying life.

In addition, one’s overall health depends upon the values and attitudes that they cultivate and maintain throughout their lives. This includes both their physical well-being and their mental well-being. The essence of a happy and successful life is comprised of both the mind and the body, and these concepts cannot be separated from each other.

Therefore, what we understand as “healthy” can vary from person to person and situation to situation. The quality of well-being can be impacted by the type of technology that an individual uses, the type of education that they obtain, the types of relationships they have, their work style, their social networking activities, and many other factors. Online social interaction has opened up a whole new arena in terms of social interaction, and the expansion of the digital society has made it possible to participate in these interactions from virtually anywhere. These interactions have become a great boon for mental well-being, but they also pose a number of unique challenges that must be addressed for individuals who reside in a wired society. In this paper we will examine these challenges and suggest potential solutions through a look at the interdisciplinary approach to mental wellness.

One challenge that is faced by people of color and other underserved groups in the United States is health disparities in health outcomes. For example, people of color tend to suffer from higher rates of both obesity and diabetes. Although people of color have higher obesity rates than the national average, they also have higher rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases such as cancer. On the other hand, people of color and other disadvantaged communities are also more likely to experience low levels of education. This gap in educational achievement results in greater health disparities in health outcomes, with people of color and other disadvantaged communities suffering higher health risks and disability rates. This gap in health outcomes can only be closed by addressing the myriad of factors that contribute to health behaviors, which are affected by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status and place of residence.

Research has shown that when people of color, especially people of color of African descent, experience early diagnosis and treatment, they recover more quickly from chronic and serious illnesses than do patients with similar demographics who have delayed getting diagnosed or treated. This finding highlights the importance of an integrated system that incorporates disease prevention and complete physical therapy along with medical treatment so that the sick person can fully recover and achieve optimal health. It also highlights the need to address the social, cultural and environmental factors that exacerbate health risks and enable people to develop chronic and serious illnesses. A holistic public health approach that takes these key steps can help ensure that all persons – particularly those of color and other disadvantaged communities – get the health care and nutrition they need to survive.