Taste and the claims of war: the Kantian sublime and the function of war in public aesthetic judgement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although Kant disapproved of war, he asserted it was sublime. His views of war are disconnected and in places surprisingly positive, but he avoids grappling with their implications. This article analyses these heterogeneous discussions through Kant’s notion of the sublime to argue that some of his statements imply war’s sublimity can provoke an educated public into forming an international federation: the power to keep all in awe in Kant’s interpretation of international foundation is not the Hobbesean sovereign or a coercive international government, but reflection on war itself. Kant’s ideas about sublime warfare are internally contradictory. Although they are valuable as an encouragement to work toward peace, working toward peace in actual fact may have unintended results.