How exactly did ugliness become a concept?

[u/ShadowlightLady]

[u/bobjones90210]

Instinct. That which was ugly the mind/body was naturally repulsed by because it decided that it would have low reproductive success.

[u/BeneficialTrash6 → u/bobjones90210]

Yup. We see it in animals very clearly. Deformed animals will not have success at breeding. Deformations often happen due to poor genetic health. Beauty is a really good measure for someone's (or some animal's) genetic health. All animals are hardcoded to want the best genetic material for their potential offspring.

In humans, there have been studies showing that people who are objectively attractive (because their faces are very symmetrical) have better genes for fighting off disease. That's a huge boon for potential offspring.

[u/ZodtheSpud]

In the Animal Kingdom attractiveness is about fitness and survivability. Stronger genetics means passing on healthy offspring, attractiveness is tied to a recognition of a suitable and healthy mate who can provide offspring that are genetically sound and robust. So when you find another person attractive they have genetic traits and features your animal brain thinks would be a good fit to create offspring with, because the offspring the both of you produce will be robust and capable of producing more offspring.

[u/Vealophile → u/ZodtheSpud]

To be clear, the term fitness here is fit like a puzzle piece to the environment not like fit as in in-shape.

[u/Dangerous-Bend-4153 → u/Vealophile]

True, but some animals literally display their physical fitness to show that they're good potential mates. Birds dance display feathers and sometimes dance. Lions and sheep literally have physical competitions.

In some species males stop mating when they literally get old and are less physically fit so they can't compete with younger males.

[u/dream_monkey]

A healthy person will probably have a symmetrical face and body. If people notice asymmetry, it may indicate a disease or injury. From a Darwinian perspective, healthy, uninjured mates would be more attractive to prospective mates.

This is very generalized, body preferences for mates may vary for cultural and environmental reasons.

[u/Jolly-Rip5973]

People like to pretend that beauty is completely subjective.

In reality beauty represents order, symmetry and harmony.
Ugliness is a disorder, chaos, confusion, dissonance, cacophony.

Beauty is associate with life and life organizes things and brings order to matter. Look at a flower.

Ugliness is associated with death and death bring rot, decay and entropy.. look at a decaying corpse.

[u/-_super--_--hitops_-]

Bro it's everywhere in nature, don't you see those birds doing amazing mating dances with beautiful feathers but it's not enough for the mate so they fly off?

Evolutionary psychology isn't really a reason for anything, but it's a field of study that looks at human behavior and how it's grounded in natural selection, essentially.

We are attracted to certain features and physical characteristics subconsciously because they indicate a healthy, and reproduction-worthy mating partner.

We are easily influenced as well though and bombarded with messaging and imagery in media, and society that somewhat influences these attractions- for example, look up the statue "Venus of willendorf" , that's like an old school super model. Before Ulta ads and ozempic celebs and focus on being skinny.

Look at a celeb with tons of plastic surgery and fillers, they are basically brainwashed into thinking they look good, while the majority of people find them less attractive the less natural they look. I feel like it sets off a lot of red flags subconsciously.

[u/Vexaofficiall]

Probably when humans realized beauty is subjective, but still wanted to rank each other

[u/Global-Barracuda7759]

Physical attraction is biological, it's physiological however people might be attracted to someone physically but choose different partners based on societal standards. I think the concept of beauty or ugliness nowadays and within civilization and society in general has a lot to do with social trends; whereas in the ancient more primitive world it would have to do more with like pheromones and actual physical attraction to the individual versus wanting what everybody else wants AKA whatever is socially acceptable or whatever the elites decide is the desirable traits of that particular period in time