Kant on Aesthetics Flashcards
What is meant by Kant’s judgements of taste having ‘subjective universality’?
If one thing someone thinks is really beautiful (a proper judgement has been made) then it should be beautiful for everyone.
How did Kant change how we view the world around us?
‘Objects must conform to our knowledge’ rather than ‘all our knowledge must conform to objects’
It appears like that because that is how I see it
How is the human mind the active originator of experience?
It constructs the world, it is not a passive recipient of perception
What, according to Kant, are the 2 faculties that process raw data?
- Imagination - Supplies the image
2. Understanding - Supplies the concept to the image
What is the processing of raw data aka?
Determinative judgement
How does a helmet aid an explanation of how what the world looks like to humans?
Living as if were wearing helmets that only allows us to see a certain way (eg only black and white even though there is colour in the world)
What is meant by the Noumenal Realm?
- The wold as it really is
- Unknowable
What is meant by the Phenomenal realm?
- The world as we experience it
- The thing-as-it-appears-to-us
- We know it as it appears to us, as it conforms to the structure of our minds
What do Kant and Hume largely agree on?
We experience the world the same way as we have the same mental faculties
Therefore, we will perceive beauty as the same
What were some of the overall aims of Kant’s critique of aesthetic value?
Bridge his other critiques pure reason and practical reason
Had to still consider judgement based on pleasure to bridge the two
What are the four ‘moments’ Kant lists as being a ‘judgement of taste’?
- The pleasure which determines the judgement of tastes is INDEPENDENT OF ALL INTEREST
- The beautiful is the object of a universal delight
- Beauty is in the form of finality in the object
- The beautiful is that which, apart from a concept, is cognised as object of a necessary delight
Outline the first claim Kant makes in his account of the 1st moment (wee dig at Hume)
- Aesthetic contemplation focusses only on the representation of objects and the feeling of pleasure it gives
- This means that judgements of beauty are not knowledge judgements; they don’t give us knowledge of the object but how we feel when we see it
Describe the idea of disinterest in Kant’s 1st moment and give an example
Must be indifferent to things’ real existance, only focus on the representation of the object, just how it looks
e.g. Child’s painting is prized but for interested (not disinterested) reasons - cos child did it, not cos its good
What reasons can you give for finding something beautiful?
You must think its beautiful just by looking at it - no other reasons
Cant consider what the object eg might do for you
What is the delight in the agreeable?
Coupled with interest, since agreeable is that which pleases the senses
What is the delight in the good?
Our satisfaction in the good (action/object) derives from a judgement about its desirability, its serving a purpose, either as a means or as an end itself
Give a comparison between the delight in the good and agreeable
How does this relate to the beautiful?
Both agreeable and good involve reference to the faculty of desire; only the beautiful does not
What is the most important aspect of an object?
What does this say about the judgement of taste and disinterest?
What matters is the way the object appears, not the way it is (or even if it is)
The judgement of taste is merely contemplative, indifferent to the real existence of the object
Give an example of disinterest versus other judgements?
If a farmer, property developer and a walker were to look at the same countryside view
Only the walker will look at it and appreciate it for what it is, no practical reasons behind thinking
How does Kant explain the nature of wanting to return to things that are beautiful?
We are interested in beautiful objects because they give us pleasure, but pleasure comes before the interest
What is important to remember about disinterest?
Disinterested does not equal uninterested
What is the confusing nature of Kant’s 2nd moment?
The judgement of taste commands a universal assent, as much as an objective judgement, despite its subjectivity
How would Kant argue against the apparent paradox of his 2nd moment?
- Everyone looks through the same lens, so should find the same things visually appealing
- Being properly disinterested means no prejudice obstructing our judgement
How does Kant use cognition to help explain his 2nd moment?
Cognition is common among everyone
Beauty involves no cognition as U and I don’t work in a regulatory manner as per cos only interested in ‘free play’ where cognitive faculties are relaxed
