Science at UM [S05-ep05]: Beauty in the animal world

[Podcast] - Published on January 8, 2026 in Science-Society

For this first broadcast of the year, A l’UM la science brings you a long-format interview with Julien Renoult, a researcher at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (Cefe). Together with him, we explore the biological definition of beauty and its role in evolution. A program broadcast every Wednesday on Divergence.

It is 1871, Charles Darwin publishes The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, a work in which he questions the definition and biological role of beauty, which he refers to in this context as the characteristics developed by animals to attract a mate.

These characteristics, which we will refer to as sexual ornamentation, can include the tail of a peacock, the antlers of a deer, or the mane of a lion. But do peacocks, deer, and lionesses perceive this beauty? What role does it play in mate selection? Are the incredible colors displayed by the mandrill the result of an evolution linked to the perception of beauty in non-human animals?  

These are questions that the brand-new field of beauty science is attempting to answer. Brand new because, between Darwin and our guest, few researchers have ventured into this area. We can mention The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum and A Taste of Beauty by Michael Ryan.

Julien Renoult is a researcher and biologist at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in Montpellier. He published an article in Biological Reviews entitled On the Biological Basis of Beauty (On the biological basis of beauty). In it, he constructs a definition at the crossroads of biology, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, proposing thatbeauty is "the pleasure of fluid information processing, independent of the function or material reward it provides." He thus makes it a by-product of evolution, applicable to animal ornamentation as well as art.

The year is off to a great start at A l’UM la science.
You have the program, so let's get started!

At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production: Alice Rollet

Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, Science, Company