Beauty, as we have seen, is a value; it cannot be conceived as an independent existence which affects our senses and which we consequently perceive.
 George Santayana, The Sense of Beauty (1896). copy citation

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Author George Santayana
Source The Sense of Beauty
Topic beauty existence
Date 1896
Language English
Reference
Note
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26842/26842-h/26842-h.htm

Context

“If we say that other men should see the beauties we see, it is because we think those beauties are in the object, like its colour, proportion, or size. Our judgment appears to us merely the perception and discovery of an external existence, of the real excellence that is without. But this notion is radically absurd and contradictory. Beauty, as we have seen, is a value; it cannot be conceived as an independent existence which affects our senses and which we consequently perceive. It exists in perception, and cannot exist otherwise. A beautynot perceived is a pleasure not felt, and a contradiction. But modern philosophy has taught us to say the same thing of every element of the perceived world;” source