>>7
my understanding is it is some people rediscovering that the greeks viewed beauty as a signifier of being virtuous. the only reason someone would be ugly is pissing off some god.
this idea has been around a long time, and is an unspoken assumption in many religious beliefs as it is embedded deep in the human psyche re:halo effect as 6 mentions. altho i wonder if it is cultural or biological in origin, but there's no way to test that.

The problem is that there are indeed some "unvirtuous" acts which do make someone uglier - lack of cleanliness, sloth, gluttony, long term drug use/smoking, etc. these things do make someone uglier in the traditional sense.
but of course lying doesn't actually make your nose grow longer, and thanks to the halo effect attractive people are considered more trustworthy so "beautiful people" have an easier time being manipulative, (Ted Bundy wouldn't have been as successful if he wasn't attractive)

but maybe stuff like lying not making someone physically less attractive is actually proof it is morally virtuous to lie?