The Beautiful as the Arbitrary: Aesthetic Foundations of the Theory of Non-knowledge
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Abstract
This article proposes a reconceptualization of beauty through the lens of the Theory of Non-Knowledge (TNK), which denies the possibility of absolute knowledge and replaces truth with the functional concept of X (NS) — an arbitrary and non-contradictory unit of action. In contrast to classical approaches to aesthetics, such as those of Plato, Kant, and Nietzsche, the article argues that beauty cannot be rationally grounded, but must be understood as an operative element that mobilizes the subject. The author contends that beauty is that which attracts without reasons, and that its force lies in its capacity to provoke action. As an example, the article presents a radical and self-referential case of five geometric forms associated with the female body, showing that sincerity in arbitrariness reveals more about beauty than any universal theory. Beauty is thus restored as an existential engine, prior to discourse.
Keywords
Beauty; aesthetics; Theory of Non-Knowledge; action; X (NS); contemporary philosophy
References
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How to cite this paper
The Beautiful as the Arbitrary: Aesthetic Foundations of the Theory of Non-knowledge
How to cite this paper: Euclides Barbosa Ramos de Souza. (2025). The Beautiful as the Arbitrary: Aesthetic Foundations of the Theory of Non-knowledge. Journal of Literature Advances, 2(2), 116-121.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jla.2025.12.005
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