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Friday, 10 February 2012

Kant on beauty


Immanuel Kant - from Wikipedia

The beautiful is that which pleases universally without a concept.

If we judge Objects merely according to concepts, then all representation of beauty is lost. Thus there can be no rule according to which any one is forced to recognise anything as beautiful. We cannot press upon others by the aid of reasons or fundamental propositions our judgement that a coat, a house, or a flower is beautiful.
Immanuel Kant - Critique of Judgement


In other words, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is nothing to be gained by trying to fit beauty into a conceptual framework of its own - it belongs in cultural frameworks.
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2 comments:

  1. James Higham10 February 2012 at 11:33

    Ah, I have a problem with Kant. It would take 20 posts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A K Haart10 February 2012 at 11:57

    JH - so do I, but it wouldn't take 20 posts.

    Crap writer and overrated philosopher but there are a few not very original bits worth having. That's about it for me!

    ReplyDelete

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