What Is It Like to Feel Beauty? The Complex Meaning of Kant’s Thesis of Disinterestedness
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Larissa Berger
Abstract
Kant’s thesis of disinterestedness (TD), as put forward in § 2 of the Critique of Judgment, functions as his entry into the realm of beauty. I aim to show that TD has a complex meaning which can be unfolded on several levels. To get a proper theoretical grasp on this thesis one needs to take into account the notions of the free play of the faculties, form and purposiveness without a purpose. But since these notions are only available much later after disinterestedness has been introduced, and moreover, since these notions are only derived from TD, I will argue that there must be a more intuitive grasp on TD. This grasp is phenomenological: the pleasure in the beautiful feels disinterested, that is, detached from any desiring.
Abstract
Kant’s thesis of disinterestedness (TD), as put forward in § 2 of the Critique of Judgment, functions as his entry into the realm of beauty. I aim to show that TD has a complex meaning which can be unfolded on several levels. To get a proper theoretical grasp on this thesis one needs to take into account the notions of the free play of the faculties, form and purposiveness without a purpose. But since these notions are only available much later after disinterestedness has been introduced, and moreover, since these notions are only derived from TD, I will argue that there must be a more intuitive grasp on TD. This grasp is phenomenological: the pleasure in the beautiful feels disinterested, that is, detached from any desiring.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- Introduction 1
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Part I Disinterestedness in Kant
- Disinterestedness by Any Other Name: Kant and Mendelssohn 11
- What Is It Like to Feel Beauty? The Complex Meaning of Kant’s Thesis of Disinterestedness 31
- Disinterestedness: Analysis and Partial Defense 59
- Disinterestedness and Its Role in Kant’s Aesthetics 87
- Making Sense: Disinterestedness and Control 105
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Part II Disinterestedness With and Beyond Kant
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(a) Disinterest Advocates
- The Myth of the Absent Self: Disinterest, the Self, and Evaluative Self-Consciousness 135
- Aesthetic Disinterestedness Revisited 167
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(b) Something in Between
- The Playful Negotiation of Interests: Kant in Conversation with Fried and Winnicott 183
- Human Beauty, Attraction, and Disinterested Pleasure 211
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(c) Disinterest Critics
- Pleasure, Desire, and Beauty 233
- Beyond Hedonism about Aesthetic Value 257
- Author Index 275
- Subject Index 279
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Disinterestedness in Kant
- Disinterestedness by Any Other Name: Kant and Mendelssohn 11
- What Is It Like to Feel Beauty? The Complex Meaning of Kant’s Thesis of Disinterestedness 31
- Disinterestedness: Analysis and Partial Defense 59
- Disinterestedness and Its Role in Kant’s Aesthetics 87
- Making Sense: Disinterestedness and Control 105
-
Part II Disinterestedness With and Beyond Kant
-
(a) Disinterest Advocates
- The Myth of the Absent Self: Disinterest, the Self, and Evaluative Self-Consciousness 135
- Aesthetic Disinterestedness Revisited 167
-
(b) Something in Between
- The Playful Negotiation of Interests: Kant in Conversation with Fried and Winnicott 183
- Human Beauty, Attraction, and Disinterested Pleasure 211
-
(c) Disinterest Critics
- Pleasure, Desire, and Beauty 233
- Beyond Hedonism about Aesthetic Value 257
- Author Index 275
- Subject Index 279
