Investigating the Therapeutic Potential of the Beautiful and the Sublime: Pathways to Mind-Body Healing and Life Enlightenment in Aesthetics

This study empirically examined the therapeutic potential of the beautiful and the sublime—two contrasting foundational concepts in Western aesthetics—by investigating their physiological, psychological, and existential effects. Drawing on Positive Psychology (PP) and Second Wave Positive Psychology (SWPP), the research tested which aesthetic experience more effectively promoted physiological relaxation and positive emotions, and examined effects on sense of meaning in life. Using expert-validated paintings, 328 Taiwanese university students viewed either 12 beautiful or 12 sublime artworks selected according to Burke's criteria. As hypothesized, experiences of the beautiful evoked significantly greater physiological relaxation ( p < .001) and positive emotions ( p < .001) than sublime experiences. However, contrary to expectations, no significant differences emerged in sense of meaning in life between aesthetic experience groups ( p = .195). Subscale analyses further revealed that experiences of the beautiful were associated with a significantly higher sense of Presence of Meaning than experiences of the sublime ( p = .031). Exploratory analyses revealed important mechanistic insights: for both beautiful and sublime experiences, positive emotional responses significantly predicted sense of meaning in life (beautiful: r = .311; sublime: r = .316, both p < .001). This suggests sublime experiences may enhance sense of meaning in life when eliciting positive emotions. Additionally, Buddhist and Taoist participants showed significantly greater physiological relaxation with beautiful versus sublime paintings compared to other religious groups, suggesting cultural moderation. The findings validate beautiful aesthetic experiences as effective PP therapeutic tools for stress relief. However, the null finding for sublime experiences’ meaning-making effects suggests caution in SWPP applications. Sublime stimuli may have elicited predominantly threat-based rather than positive awe, highlighting challenges in translating aesthetic theory into therapeutic practice and the importance of culturally sensitive approaches.