It has been argued that aesthetics, or the appreciation of beauty, can be used in therapy. We explore this concept from the point of view of new findings in neurobiology which give us an understanding of the mechanisms by which we experience beauty and creativity. We argue from anthropological perspectives that the experience of beauty is common to all cultures, and leads to the experiencing of important abstract concepts which enhance our lives, but which may be described differently in different cultures. We are beginning to understand how these abstract concepts are perceived, but this does not mean that the concepts themselves do not exist. Indeed, a Thomistic view of the human person will predict that there will be a mechanism within the body to express every bodily function. Based on this we argue that doctors should encourage their patients to appreciate beauty itself, as they understand it, because experiencing it can be therapeutic.
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