Kant on Genius: The Critique of Judgment

Dr. Ellie Anderson, philosophy professor and co-host of Overthink podcast, discusses Immanuel Kant's influential theory of genius as discussed in his third critique, The Critique of Judgment. What makes a genius, and how is genius expressed in beautiful works of art? 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

[dylandunn]

Wonderful video! Thank you Ellie for doing this with Continental philosophy. As a graduate student who is largely interested in continental thinkers, I am thrilled to see your videos, honestly!

[xinlianglyu]

I have to say, although students can learn Einstein's theory, but probably no one can learn how Einstein managed to create his general theory of relativity, which is definitely a work of art.

[bourdieufan]

i struggle getting my head around a lot of kant, always grateful for clear and engaging explanations

[darshanmand]

Interesting. I’m intrigued by the idea that good art is an expression of freedom. And the idea that an artistic genius can transform something ugly into a beautiful work of art. And the idea that taste forms rules for judging the beauty of art

[محمد_مهدي_حازم]

I would like a video about Islamic philosophy and Muslim philosophers, please

[artlessons]

This reflects a interview l recently heard with Bob Dylan … he said when speaking of his works in the sixties … well l don’t know where they came from … he than recited a few lines from different songs … saying now who can come up with something like that … he said l can’t now … they just jumped on my page in a special time .
Thanks .

[robertalenrichter]

I make a distinction between being talented and being gifted. Talent is a form of easy mastery; it makes life easier. A gift can be just the opposite, something that makes life much more difficult because of its complexity. Of course, the dictionary definition is the same, but you see what I mean.

[nothankyoutube]

As a 20 year vet professional artist, I would say one is not born with it or not. You might have some inclination to something, but it can all be learned and with practice mastered.

The hardest working student will always outpace the lazy one that was "born with it".

[brentlyw]

Einstein was an excellent violinist. He was an artist as well.

[tomdaniels]

Is a beautiful work of art a "thing-in-itself"?

[austinfuller]

You should do "The Artworld" from Danto soon!

[_blaze_]

I have prepared this topic just today for CSS ( competitive exams for civil services in Pakistan ) . 😍
You explain so nicely Ma'am. Appreciated... ❤

[Mohamad-dczx]

Is this true that the difference between genius and madness is just a hairline like what was true about Vincent van Gogh?

[tomlucia]

the beauty of mathematics is its application

[sedgar]

In the 18th century, genius was generally understood to be the talent for producing art, not science. In fact, you can find that as far back as critics like John Dennis in the late 17th century, so Kant's views weren't particularly unusual in that regard for his time. Even after Kant, Schopenhauer's view was that the genius is someone with a talent for producing art.

I don't think that this should be seen as Kant saying there is nothing creative about science. Kant considered aesthetic judgment as a kind of reflective judgment, which moves from the particular to find the rule that covers it. (As opposed to determinative judgment, which takes a rule or concept and applies it to the particular.) He saw reflective judgment as being at work not just in aesthetic judgment but in science as well.

[vegansportsbar]

I'm pretty sure there's an Ellie who never leaves this room while the other one travels Europe. Great video, thank you

[Andrei-wysk]

I encourage everyone to read, as a critique on the idea of "innate" talent, "Mindset" by Dr. Carol Dweck. The idea of art being like nature flowing through you is beautiful, but this can be developed by embracing practice. Even Mozart copied others, and Einstein didn't just come up with emc2 while sitting on the toilet. Innate talent is a pretty false idea

[cemkahya]

Kral boş iş anlatma bize kitap öner kitap Kant'ı on dakkalık videodan mı öğrencem kitap öner

[swinnburn]

Genius is always given to you by the fairy's with a little sprinkle of fairy dust.🧚‍♂🧚‍♀

[maximopalomares]

1. I suppose that geniuses have know how but lack know why, that´s why they cannot transmit what they do 2. Geniuses enter into a sense of Flow when they create, this is now called optimal experience 3. Yes, genius poets have the gift to describe tragedy with beauty.