Beauty, Art, and Sublimity, and the Symbolic Relationship Between Aesthetic Judgment and Moral Judgment in Kant

Abstract

I give an analysis of Kant’s discussion of beauty in nature and art, and his discussion of sublimity, which is surprisingly under-appreciated. I argue that, as a result of the different symbolic relationships that the beautiful and the sublime have with the moral, these kinds of experiences, each in a different way, are instructive: The beautiful is especially capable of teaching us to love something without interest, and it cultivates a certain kind of freedom from the merely personal inclinations on which we tend to focus. The sublime, on the other hand, best captures what Kant calls ‘moral feeling,’ and it teaches us moral dignity. Sublimity not only makes us aware of reason’s power, but it teaches us that, in our practical lives, that power should be given due respect and that it should never be defeated by our inclinations. In this way, an experience of sublimity gives us, as it were, a revelation about reason, and we are carried to apply it to the practical.