A beautiful problem for atheism

The existence of evil and suffering present a problem for theism. How could a loving and benevolent God allow it? But, there is a flip side. Beauty presents a problem for atheism. Why do humans have such an affinity for and appreciation of beauty in both the natural world and human creations such as art and music?

John Horgan [best known as author of The End of Science] has an interesting blog post Can Science - Really Solve - the Problem of Beauty? on the Scientific American website. Aside: He has some amusing comments about Richard Dawkins' utilitarian view of these questions.