Does beauty compel assent? It certainly seems to.
Ought it? That's trickier. If an explanation encompasses the data simply and elegantly and beautifully, does that make it a good explanation? Does that make it true? Are the "transcendentals" truly interchangeable? If the explanation does not compel by its beauty, what is the nature of the compulsion?
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at 10:49 AM
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