Kant's analysis of judgements of beauty

Abstract

I believe that the value of a philosophical theory must be judged, primarily, in terms of its success in dealing with the problems it proposes, and that this is to be ascertained not only by the extent to which it may resolve them but also by its success in setting those problems in a framework in which their significance may be exhibited. For this reason Section One is concentrated upon a 'critical exposition' of Kant's treatment of the problem that he presents as being the major philosophical dilemma confronting a definition of judgements of Beauty. In this section I have attempted to provide a statement and an evaluation of Kant's analysis of judgements of Beauty in terms of the logical coherence of the arguments he employs both in formulating and resolving this problem. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the value of a philosophical theory can be measured adequately, solely on the basis of its success within the boundaries of the framework it specifies. It is for this reason, that I have adopted a second perspective from which to evaluate Kant's analysis of judgements of Beauty, in Section Two. My intention in this revised perspective might be called 'constructive'. It is an attempt to identify and to develop certain implications of the subjectivism of Kant's analysis for an explanation of other problems that surround judgements of Beauty.