The Big Think: Beauty and Insanity. An Interesting Connection.
Beauty.
It can move us.
It can move us to tears.
But can it make you crazy!!
It very well may. Enter Stendhal Syndrome. A clinical syndrome defined as "momentary insanity in the presence of great beauty."
The syndrome was named after the French writer who experienced this "condition"during his 1817 visit to Florance Italy. Further, he wrote about it in his book Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio.
From music to sculpture to nature...beauty can be our muse...and our medical condition. Beauty provides an interesting "resonance" that can enhance our experience and can even push us to transcendence in a way that can destabilize our emotions. I believe we have all had a bit of Stendhal Syndrome from time to time. Perhaps it's this very destabilization that allows us to see and feel in a broader and deeper way.
Recently I saw a inspiring sculpture by Rodin entitled "Thought". It's a beautiful, masterful and engaging rock that comes to life...and well...can make you crazy! I thought the image and the name was just right for this blog. Here are two photographs to get a better perspective: http://www.humanitiesweb.org/gallery/225/16.jpg and http://kybele.psych.cornell.edu/~edelman/Psych-531/Rodin-thought.jpg
Seek out the beauty to inspire...and keep thinking!