The Politics of Beauty: A Study of Kant's Critique of Taste (Elements in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant)

"Abstract: This Element examines the entirety of Kant's Critique of Taste (in Part One of the Critique of Judgment) with particular emphasis on its political and moral aims. Kant's critical treatment of aesthetic judgment is both an extended theoretical response to influential predecessors and contemporaries, including Rousseau and Herder, and a practical intervention in its own right meant to nudge history forward at a time of civilizational crisis. Attention to these themes helps resolve a number of puzzles, both textual and philosophic, including the normative force and meaning of judgments of taste, and the relation between natural and artful beauty"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title page 3 Copyright page 4 The Politics Of Beauty 5 Contents 6 1 Introduction: Reflection and Revolution 7 2 The Elements of Beauty 12 2.1 The Four “Moments” of Taste 13 2.2 The Deduction of Pure Aesthetic Judgments 25 2.3 Interest in the BeautifulIf 28 3 Artistic Beauty 31 3.1 Genius, Taste, and Spirit 34 3.2 The King’s Speech 39 4 Rhetoric and the Antinomy of Taste 43 4.1 Rhetoric and Poetry 43 4.2 The “Antinomy of Taste” 51 4.3 Semblance and Deception 54 5 The Politics of Beauty 56 5.1 Beauty as Symbol 56 5.2 The King’s Speech Revisited 60 5.3 The “Modus” of Taste 63 5.4 Beyond the Politics of Taste 69 6 Summary and Conclusion 74 References 76 Acknowledgments 82 "This Element examines the entirety of Kant's Critique of Taste (in Part One of the Critique of Judgment) with particular emphasis on its political and moral aims. Kant's critical treatment of aesthetic judgment is both an extended theoretical response to influential predecessors and contemporaries, including Rousseau and Herder, and a practical intervention in its own right meant to nudge history forward at a time of civilizational crisis. Attention to these themes helps resolve a number of puzzles, both textual and philosophic, including the normative force and meaning of judgments of taste, and the relation between natural and artful beauty." -- Provided by the Publisher