Ideas of Beauty and Goodness

This chapter deliberates upon issues and problems related to conceptualizing the ideas of beauty and goodness. It is being handled here in detail taking up concrete narratives from the community worldviews and practices. Large part of the chapter contains ethnographic findings out of interviews conducted across several ethnic communities of Northeast India. As many as 24 ethnic communities have been studied, of which the focus has been on 12 communities. The respondents were not confined to the scholars; several respondents from different walks of life representing both the genders were covered. The discussion is presented three tiered: One, the viewpoints of the respondents are presented in direct conversational mode. Two, this is followed by explanation and narration by the field researchers including the Principal Investigator. Three, a further deliberation in the form of comments and explanation by the Principal Investigator, linking several of those findings across communities. As follow up of the findings, an elaborate discussion is initiated on the merger of beauty and goodness through the ideas of inner and outer beauty. Attempt has also been to capture the criss-cross similarities in the conceptualization of beauty, and how it gets inseparably linked to the idea of goodness. Thus, an ontology is shaped through aesthetic and ethical sensibilities.