Disinterestedness and Its Role in Kant’s Aesthetics
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Christian Helmut Wenzel
Abstract
In this essay I explain the methodology of Kant’s analysis of the judgment of taste. I focus on the very beginning, especially the footnote just before § 1. I explain how Kant thinks he is justified in being guided by certain logical functions to discover the “moments” of the judgement of taste. I show that “moment” (das Moment) here should be understood as “force” in terms of physics (Lat. momentum). I explain why he begins with Quality and not with Quantity, as one might expect on the basis of the First Critique. I then follow Kant’s analysis and show how it leads to the first “explication” of beauty, i.e., that taste is based on disinterested satisfaction. Based on these results, I discuss the role disinterestedness plays in intellectual interest, autonomy, and judgments of the sublime.
Abstract
In this essay I explain the methodology of Kant’s analysis of the judgment of taste. I focus on the very beginning, especially the footnote just before § 1. I explain how Kant thinks he is justified in being guided by certain logical functions to discover the “moments” of the judgement of taste. I show that “moment” (das Moment) here should be understood as “force” in terms of physics (Lat. momentum). I explain why he begins with Quality and not with Quantity, as one might expect on the basis of the First Critique. I then follow Kant’s analysis and show how it leads to the first “explication” of beauty, i.e., that taste is based on disinterested satisfaction. Based on these results, I discuss the role disinterestedness plays in intellectual interest, autonomy, and judgments of the sublime.
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
