: Eco suggests that while we can observe beauty dispassionately, ugliness forces an immediate, visceral emotional response—typically disgust, fear, or repulsion .

Book review: "On Ugliness" by Umberto Eco - Patrick T. Reardon

Eco argues that while beauty is often defined by a set of harmonious rules (symmetry, proportion, light), . The book serves as a companion to his previous work, On Beauty , and functions as an encyclopedic taxonomy of the grotesque through art and literature.

: What one era found monstrous, another might find fascinating or even "camp." For instance, ancient Greek tragedy used ugliness (like Oedipus's blinded face) to achieve catharsis , heightening the emotional impact of drama.

On Ugliness -

: Eco suggests that while we can observe beauty dispassionately, ugliness forces an immediate, visceral emotional response—typically disgust, fear, or repulsion .

Book review: "On Ugliness" by Umberto Eco - Patrick T. Reardon

Eco argues that while beauty is often defined by a set of harmonious rules (symmetry, proportion, light), . The book serves as a companion to his previous work, On Beauty , and functions as an encyclopedic taxonomy of the grotesque through art and literature.

: What one era found monstrous, another might find fascinating or even "camp." For instance, ancient Greek tragedy used ugliness (like Oedipus's blinded face) to achieve catharsis , heightening the emotional impact of drama.