Rationalized Esthetics in Civil Engineering

Supreme court decisions, Federal law, and governmental regulations now require civil engineering design to give appropriate consideration to environmental amenities. Anthropology clearly demonstrates that art is a fundamental characteristic of human society. The philosophies of esthetics have ranged broadly from the relative to the absolute, but eminent philosophers since Plato have urged a rational approach. For the past two centuries, civil engineering has been rooted in the physical sciences. The behavioral sciences can now be added as a source for the formulation of design principles. Recent psychological research has provided a promising means for the development of a rational design methodology. There is hope of quantifying esthetics, developing an esthetic modulus, and establishing truth about beauty.