There is a moral difference between improving the body with plastic surgery versus undergoing psychological counselling to improve the mind and spirit. Why has society become so increasingly shallow? The following paper will provide a strong argument for my position. I believe that the inner beauty is far more important than the outer self and that improving the mind and spirit has a positive impact on an individual.
Nancy Etcoff, writer of Survival of The Prettiest lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and she is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Etcoff has a M.Ed. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Boston university in psychology. Etcoff’s thesis argues “That our passionate pursuit of beauty reflects the workings of a basic instinct” (Etcoff 7). Etcoff starts off by exploring the definition of what …show more content…
Etcoff seeks out philosopher’s expression of beauty, she also researches various civilizations to better understand how beauty is understood. Film, the media, cinema and magazines are also important sources. Etcoff researches how religion overtime affects our definition of beauty. She also researchers how beauty has evolved over time. According to Etcoff “appearance is the most public part of the self. It is our sacrament, the visible self that the world assumed to be a mirror of the invisible, inner self. Beauty will continue to operate- outside jurisdiction. In the lawless world of human attraction” (Etcoff 7). She ends by attempting to put beauty into perspective. As well, Etcoff discusses Paul Valéry’s concept of the three bodies. One body is the one we possess, that we live in and that we experience. The second body is the
Nancy Etcoff, writer of Survival of The Prettiest lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and she is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Etcoff has a M.Ed. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Boston university in psychology. Etcoff’s thesis argues “That our passionate pursuit of beauty reflects the workings of a basic instinct” (Etcoff 7). Etcoff starts off by exploring the definition of what …show more content…
Etcoff seeks out philosopher’s expression of beauty, she also researches various civilizations to better understand how beauty is understood. Film, the media, cinema and magazines are also important sources. Etcoff researches how religion overtime affects our definition of beauty. She also researchers how beauty has evolved over time. According to Etcoff “appearance is the most public part of the self. It is our sacrament, the visible self that the world assumed to be a mirror of the invisible, inner self. Beauty will continue to operate- outside jurisdiction. In the lawless world of human attraction” (Etcoff 7). She ends by attempting to put beauty into perspective. As well, Etcoff discusses Paul Valéry’s concept of the three bodies. One body is the one we possess, that we live in and that we experience. The second body is the