I think what Armstrong is trying to say is that when we view beauty in the sense that it is what makes an object more appealing to us, then it quickly can become not about the beauty of the object itself. For example if someone buys a brand new fancy red car, they can either look at the beauty of the car and say that the car itself is beautiful. But when we look at the brand new red car and associate that with bettering one’s social status by having a big red car then it is not longer the car that we are really saying is beautiful. It is having a higher social status. Armstrong also stated that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” in his writing. So I guess if you think having a higher social status is beautiful then that would be beauty to you. However I think Armstrong’s point from the first quote is that you shouldn’t use the beauty of something to better yourself.
Wonderful insight. Beauty is not about the object, but rather the reasons why you consider the object beautiful. How can we use beauty more consciously to improve ourselves?
2/3 (late.)