UTEOTW Ethics and Aesthetics

[ltcf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkee9RQPqYE&NR

Those of you that are more educated than I am in philosophy, can you help explain this comment?

"Does anyone else see the representation of the internal battle waged between a person's Aestetics and Ethics so vividly put forth at the end of this songs live shots? Bono being one's Aestetics and The Edge being one's Ethics. Stunning "

 

[theu2fly]

Edge plays Jesus, and Bono plays the devil.

It's a battle of good and evil.

 

[coolian2]

The Edge is god though.

 

[david]

Edge plays Optimus Prime and Bono plays Megatron.

 

[~BrightestStar~]

It's a battle of good and evil.

Can't sum it up better than that.

 

[MrBrau1]

so aestetics are inherently evil?

 

[blueyedpoet]

so aestetics are inherently evil?

for many creating a standard of beauty is evil

 

[cobl04]

I choose business ethics

 

[u2thewho]

Edge is Jesus, ethics, and Bono is Judas Iscariot, aesthetics.

 

[randhail]

I choose business ethics

That's the best oxymoron I've ever heard.

 

[prideofzootv]

i thought on the boston 2001 DVD, someone said Bono was playing abull and edge was the guy attempting to control it or something like that...

either way bono lost hehehe!

 

[MrBrau1]

for many creating a standard of beauty is evil

yeah, the standard is evil.

Beauty isn't.

 

[coolian2]

i thought on the boston 2001 DVD, someone said Bono was playing abull and edge was the guy attempting to control it or something like that...

either way bono lost hehehe!

That would explain why Bono says This Man is a Matador during Vertigo...

Maybe everyone is over-interpreting it

 

[Alisaura]

*puts on Devil's Advocate hat*

Why is Bono Aesthetics and Edge Ethics? Is it just because Bono's done the devil/bull horns in that song before, and therefore evil -> standard of beauty -> aesthetics?

I think I need to go and look up exactly what aesthetics means anyway... *detours to dictionary.com*

Hmm, philosophy is confusing. I've never thought there were evil connotations to the word "aesthetics" before, although the standard of beauty thing is a valid point. I've always read "aesthetics" as being a person's individual and unique set of tastes about what they like and what they don't like. Does that clash with their ethics?

Also, and I freely admit that I don't know squat about the Bible (beyond the basics), how is it that Judas represents aesthetics? Did he think Jesus was acting in poor taste?

*ponders, and looks up "ethics"*

The person who made the original comment didn't say anything about good or evil, just ethics vs. aesthetics (which I can see would clash). We know that Bono wrote the song from Judas' point of veiw, so that colours how we see it.

I don't actually think I have a point... I'll stop rambling now.

I LOVE this song, btw! It was awesome to see it at Melbourne 2. The look on Edge's face was great (although I didn't really get a chance to see what Bono was doing on the other b-stage... throwing imaginary hand-grenades again?).

 

[cdisantis83]

Well, in early Christianity there was a very rigid distinction between spirit and flesh. The surrounding Classical cultures tended to find beauty (aesthetic value) in physical objects, adopting the Greek propensity to exult the human body. Christianity rejected these tastes very strongly, instead emphasizing the spirit, which was intangible and not possible to represent in art (hence the later iconoclast movements). In this sense, Bono as a representation of Judas, in turn as a representation of Classical aesthetics, directly conflicts with Edge as an ostensible representation of Christian ethics. In short, the physical was equated to evil, the spiritual was equated to goodness. That may be reading a bit too far into the matter.

 

[MrBrau1]

they were just looking to rip off Bowie and Ronson.

 

[ltcf]

I understand the Jesus/Judas Iscariot thing. And also the Jesus/Devil thing. But when the guy referred to aesthetics and ethics, I thought it was looking at it through a different angle.

As I understand, Aesthetics and Ethics in the philosophical sense is form vs function.

With that view, I wondered if the end of the song with Edge jamming on the guitar, Edge was function, driving the song. And Bono was form--dancing around flamboyantly.

Maybe not.

But if it's just a good vs evil thing, I think aesthetics vs ethics was the wrong description.

 

[Alisaura]

Thanks for the explanation...

 

[LuvandPeace1980]

Edge plays Optimus Prime and Bono plays Megatron.

hahahaha Transformers!!

 

[jacobus]

devil boner = BUSH --- the edge = rest of world
poor world

 

[An Cat Gav]

devil boner = BUSH --- the edge = rest of world
poor world

Indeed

 

[An Cat Gav]

Wow, and look, my last post was 666. The number of the Biush!

 

[An Cat Gav]

or the Bush even.

 

[pentax]

JUDAS! COME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bgmckinney]

I understand the Jesus/Judas Iscariot thing. And also the Jesus/Devil thing. But when the guy referred to aesthetics and ethics, I thought it was looking at it through a different angle.

As I understand, Aesthetics and Ethics in the philosophical sense is form vs function.

With that view, I wondered if the end of the song with Edge jamming on the guitar, Edge was function, driving the song. And Bono was form--dancing around flamboyantly.

Maybe not.

But if it's just a good vs evil thing, I think aesthetics vs ethics was the wrong description.

I think the youtube poster was getting a bit carried away...
Describing aesthetics vs ethics as form vs function is interesting, although maybe a bit limiting. Ethics has to do with morality, and aesthetics with beauty. Specifically, I would say that ethics is the study of morality as it relates to particular circumstances, and aesthetics is the study of beauty as it relates to particular circumstances. In some cases the two conflict with one another; the perception of beauty may lead us to do something unethical. I am moved by my neighbor's wife, because she's hot - that's aesthetics. I will not sleep with her, because it would be wrong - that's ethics. But in other cases there is no conflict - I am moved by my own wife, which is good, and I will sleep with her. And so on.
Having said that, I don't see any of this in this version of UTEOTW. Edge and Bono circle each other. Our aesthetic and our ethical sides circle each other.