Why do you care about physical attractiveness in a relationship?

[GenericMind]

Who says the decisions our unconscious make aren't free will? It is our unconscious, isn't it?


Also, off-topic gtfo.

 

[Ninae]

The final decision is conscious but what impulse will be strongest isn't really our choice. You don't choose who you are the most attracted to, only if you want to go along with that impulse or not. Human nature is so complex there is all kinds of conflicting progrmming working against each other at all times. The impulses coming from the physical body, like instincts, etc. is just one level of it. For intance, another level is the level of experience, which also influences your choices in a more individual but still mostly unconscious way. You might find it easier to love someone who reminds you of someone you once loved, etc. Anyway, as most of the time there is no difference between the decision and the strongest impulse you can say that it's mostly unconscious.

 

[Psychodelirium]

I highly don't think we are subconciously aware of our genetics too. We are only consciously aware of this scientific concept after many years of rigorous scientific exploration and discoveries.

You are confused about what the genetic component of physical attraction actually means. It obviously does not mean that your "subconscious" has to have the concept of "gene". Mutations occurring in a population will cause different brains to be attracted to different things. Some of those brains will be attracted to things that happen to be reliable indicators of reproductive fitness (fertility, strength, status, etc). Those individuals whose brains happen to be attracted to such indicators will reproduce more successfully than the individuals that don't, and so their genotype will tend to dominate the population. The whole process is blind and algorithmic. It is not a matter of brains "figuring out" what they should be attracted to.

Now obviously indicators of reproductive fitness are not all that there is to physical attraction, but it's a pretty big part of it.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

as the title says, I will add a bit more later just interested in initial thoughts

It would depend on the type of relationship. Simply being someone's friend IMO wouldn't really require much physical attractiveness.

Why would I care about it in a sexual relationship? I think that seems to answer itself does it not?

 

[MyFinalRest]

haha, I don't prefer to remain "in the dark" about things, but I'm not foolish enough to get sucked into a black hole of misinformation.
Sure, genetics make all of this possible, but our thoughts, attractions, and feelings are not simply our genetics. You guys are leaving at least (1) step out.

I'm done with this debate on my man wooger's thread. Open a thread at Science & Technology if you want more.

I'll just answer the OP's question simply: Why do I care about it?
I really don't know other than it gives me pleasure to look at someone I think is beautiful.

 

[hyroller]

this question has been re-hashed a million times over....

some people value it more than others and preference looks over other aspects of a person's entire makeup. some people don't pay much mind to physicality & prefer to fall for the personality, which leads them to love a person's exterior from the inside out. others, like myself, value it equally as much as intellectual and emotional/spiritual qualities, which, when combined, form a subjctive yet overwhelmingly attractive, packaged whole.

men and women are each visually oriented, to similar degrees although in different ways when it comes to mating and sex.

 

[ilvae]

If for purely sexual purposes, yes. But if I'm in love, the looks don't really matter much any more.