Kant on the beautiful and taste: Critique of Judgment

Dr. Ellie Anderson, philosophy professor and co-host of Overthink podcast, discusses Kant's theory of aesthetics and explains the important moments of his systematic approach to taste and the beautiful. What does it mean to say that beauty is subjective? Textbook is Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology reader, ed. Cahn and Meskin (Blackwell, 2008).

This video is part of a series introducing philosophers' views of art and aesthetics.

For more from Dr. Anderson, check out Overthink on YouTube, or listen to our conversational podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We've got numerous audio podcast episodes on the philosophy of art!

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at @overthink_pod

[lillilii]

Loved this video! Thank you for introducing this subject. ❤

[elishabrowns]

Such an interesting topic, thank you for sharing!

[tracyharms]

I appreciate the length you chose. Enough to expose me to a lot of interrelated ideas, not so much that I need to set aside a full study period to get through it. Such an overview helps me orient myself when engaging with anything (e.g. on Kant’s esthetics) more long-form.

[falsificationism]

When I try a wine and I HATE it, but I can totally understand that it's good wine (no flaws, I can see why others might like it), I think that's what having "taste" is.

Apart from my subjective judgment, I can usefully apply the label "beautiful" to things I observe. To taste is to be a living being, but to have taste is to be human.

[artlessons]

Once again, Professor Anderson takes you on a brief journey into extraordinary minds ! As an artist, the subject of aesthetics draws me in; with my love for wisdom, Kant is always welcome at my table. Thank you.

[phyfts]

I love your videos very much, wouldn't mind them if they were longer

[Quidividilake]

My favourite suggestion of a possible example of the beautiful was suggested by a friend in a seminar on the third critique: a sunset under a polluted sky, which creates a wild colourful canvas of light.

[WaqasKhan-ctnn]

Ma'am the way you deliver such difficult concepts is deeply impressive and for more understandable. Packing philosophical ideas in podcasts is like adjusting heavyweight object in a small box.

[robertalenrichter]

The few times that I've heard other people talk about the Kritik der Urteilskraft, or read about it, either it was about other aspects, or I missed something, which is normal. You've made me want to bone up on the basics of what he had to say about aesthetics, as if I didn't have enough to do already...in any case, differentiating between charm, beauty and art, and implying that there is an objective standard for the latter, all of this is so different from what contemporary culture thinks about aesthetics. Nowadays, the first tenet seems to be that it's purely subjective, that art can only be talked about in terms of what it's about, rather than what it is. Of course, every painting instructor will instinctively bristle at the notion that facture is irrelevant, but my experience at art school thirty years ago was that, though this was the case, the teachers couldn't really be very precise about defining "good painting" (a term often used) because the criteria had been outsourced. My point is that there's an inherent hypocrisy in contemporary aesthetic theory, and that this has incredibly profound implications which could be loosely summed up as "anything goes" -- which I actually think of as linked to utilitarianism, "whatever it takes", which of course will always exclude poetry. Anyway, back to Kant in my usual cursory way.

[lovewinsall]

I find this to be very powerful. Great lecture.

[matthewbisso]

I read a portion of The Critique of Pure Reason years ago but never got around to exploring Kant's ideas on aesthetics so thank you for posting this interesting and informative lecture on his Critique of Judgment!

[gerry]

When I say, "I find the wine agreeable, " there is something subjective about it, in the everyday sense of the word, personal and relative to me specifically, but if I say, "The Mona Lisa is beautiful, " I'm saying something much stronger than the painting is pleasing to me personally. I mean it really and truly is beautiful--FULL STOP.

Thus our language reveals a deeper, universe subjectivity than mere personal feeling.

[CentrodeEstudiosFilosóficos]

Great and quite clear introductory explanation to a very complex and dark book such as the Kritik der Urtheilskraft.

[tituschalk]

Thanks for this. I've just been reading some excerpts from Critque of Judgement and came here hoping for some clarification of certain ideas. Was wondering if you had more to say on the following:
- What is a concept to Kant? At first, I was reading it as akin to a Platonic Form. But is it social in origin? Is it divine? Is it essential in some way?
- I really struggled with the idea of purposiveness. At first, it seemed to be that this was unique to manmade objects, something like an artistic intentionality behind the work. But then he seemed to mention purposiveness in nature too when discussing the sublime and this completely threw me. He also seemed, yes, to identify it as form - so is it something that belongs to the object, rather than the subject?
- Finally, I struggled with the idea that the subject who deems something beautiful is seeking to impress this idea on others - this felt like a lot like an interest to me - ie that the subject had an interest in spreading whatever instruction the object could lend to ideas about the good.

I may be way off base on all of these points. I found this hard-going and am confused as hell by a lot of it!

[TheBighobby]

Thank you for these valuable lessons. They are very important and wonderful. At the same time, you explain in a fun and smooth manner. I would like to ask you a question: Who are the best philosophers throughout civilizational history, for example in the time of the Greeks or in the time of the Andalusian civilization, that is, the Arabs, or Western civilization such as Germany, France, and America?

[kmscheid]

I think the idea of beauty is commonly associated with wanting the object. I find that people are confused when I talk of things that are beautiful, that I don't want.
I suspect this video is dangerously short, leading the susceptible (fool) to diving in.
Thanks for your videos.

[tan-xyz]

Thank you very much for this short lecture. It would be great if you could do another video on the view of sublime in Kant’s aestethics.

[محمد_مهدي_حازم]

Do an episode on Muslim philosophers such as Muhammad Hussain Tabatabaei, Morteza Motahhari, and Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr... Please.

[curtwarber]

Did burke’s philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful influence Kant? Thx for the video!

[Rico-Suave_]

Great video, thank you, nts watched all of it 12:50