Aesthetics, beauty - both familiar terms. But scholarship has never yet been able to resolve the question of a universal principle of beauty: What do we like? Why is something beautiful? Why is there a phenomenon of beauty at all and how do the mechanisms of beauty work? This scientfically-based book takes a clear-eyed look at the phenomenon and offers answers to complex questions. Many forms of aesthetic expression from art and architecture to logo design and pop culture are included. Selected themes from science, literature and philosophy offer new insights into aesthetics. With surprising observations and fascinating visual examples the book reveals how fundamental aesthetics are for people today and how our thoughts and actions are influenced by the "principal of beauty."