Labeling things beautiful destroys their perceived beauty
Evidence
In the domain of aesthetics, the interpreter must be wary. It is not good to gild the lily. Not only is the lily destroyed, but the painter has made a confession that he does not understand the nature of beauty. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 506
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Interpreters should evoke mood, not declare objects beautiful — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 511; Museums should open with one beautiful unlabeled object — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 524; Mechanical reproduction of beauty destroys the unconscious idolatry that made beauty vital (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- Mechanical reproduction of beauty destroys the unconscious idolatry that made beauty vital
#corroborates(0.95) - Categorization both enables perception and systematically destroys perceptual accuracy
#expands(0.85) - Universal appreciation of beauty signals resignation and empties beauty itself
#corroborates(0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 87 - Mere labeling of groups distorts perceptual estimates of their differences
#corroborates(0.80) - Mass information systems destroy the aesthetic experience they claim to promote
#corroborates(0.75) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 128 - Emotional labels change consumer behavior where scientific names do not
#corroborates(0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 359 - Sanitized labels cause people to behave measurably more cruelly
#corroborates(0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 366