Immanual Kant

Essay by Craig3348University, Bachelor's December 2002

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Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German Philosopher who lived from 1724-1804 and made the switch of art over from classical aesthetics to modern aesthetics. Classical aesthetics has to do with the characteristics that make something beautiful, where as modern aesthetics has a view where an experience of beauty is followed by an experience. Kant feels that when it comes to art and beauty, one cannot argue or pursued. Also when it comes to an aesthetic experience, one cannot control when they will have an aesthetic experience.

Kant's two parts of beauty are the judgment and creation of beauty. The judgment of beauty comes from an experience, the judgment is a sign of an aesthetic experience and studies the state of mind and the experience. The aesthetic experience is unpredictable and does not last forever. It is like a song that you may like now, but in ten years when you hear it you may not like it.

Along with ones thought of beauty, is the feeling that everyone should agree that, that thing is beautiful, such as if I think a painting is beautiful, I think you should agree. Aesthetics has no rules or structures, it is spontaneous and not regulated.

Kant says that someone cannot experience beauty if they approach it with rules and standards and concepts. In beauty there is a clear design and sense of human doing. Beauty keeps our attention, the pleasure we receive with beauty does not have an end or goal that obstructs the experience of beauty. We do not say something is beautiful because it contains such things, we something is beautiful because it feels beautiful, it is an experience of harmony, mind and perception.

Kant describes genius as having four parts. The first part of genius says that it is a talent.