Making Sense of the Claim that Beauty is Knowledge

Abstract

Pope Benedict XVI claims that beauty is knowledge. This article seeks to understand this claim through Leonardo Polo’s theory of knowledge. Polo distinguishes between objective knowledge and symbolic knowledge. Beauty as knowledge would fall under symbolic knowledge. Polo lists five intellectual symbols, among which is deity. This is relevant as Benedict XVI claims specifically that artistic beauty may communicate knowledge of God. Finally, Polo identifies sentiments of the soul by which the person has inklings of both innate habits of the soul and extramental realities. It would seem possible to express these sentiments in musical rhythms, transforming a musical composition into a communication about God.