English 5522 - Literary Theory and Criticism
Is An Aesthetic Judgment an Involuntary Judgment?
Wow. I've been a fan of Kant for a while, but I had never before from any of his work before. I had some understanding of what his three critiques were about, but this was the first time I had opportunity to hear his own voice. I have a lot of things I want to say but am not sure how any of them will come out on paper. Kant is so very thought provoking and quite intimidating.
His Critique of Judgment is not so much a statement about how to judge literature or art, but rather about the phenomenon (not a good choice of words) of judgment. Judgment of taste is something that occurs divorced from any bias that flows out of that which agrees with our constitution or anything that we esteem. If it is judged as beautiful, then it is beautiful.
He speaks of art having beauty, not within the object, but in the form of the object. This is similar to much of what we have read in the past. Horace saw the ability to imitate the form as a way to tap into the divine and capture the beautiful. So in some ways, what Kant proposes isn't original. Bu the is speaking from the standpoint of the receiver of the art. When I approach a painting, I do not merely say, "This is a painting." Rather, I make some sort of judgment about the work of art. If it is erotic in nature, the image might gratify my constitution in a sexual way before I am able to make any deliberate judgment. In this case, Kant would say that I have not and cannot then make a judgment of taste. If the art depicts a scene of a heroic battle scene, and I deem it worthy as a moral piece of work, again I have judged it based upon a concept. In both of things cases, I am "interested" in the art for one reason or another. When I approach a piece of art and say, "I like this," not because of any objective consideration, but "merely [. . .] because of form," then I have made a judgment of taste. In this case my judgment is not clouded by any interest whatsoever. I am "disinterested." I have seen the art as "purposeless," although I realize that the artist created it with purpose.
Here is my dilemma. Kant says, "A judgment of taste [. . . is] and aesthetic one" (Kant 505). My understanding of the word aesthetic as Kant uses it is "of the senses." Does this mean that the judgment is involuntary on my part? Is it something that I learn to recognize when I approach art? Kant says this judgment that I make is not a cognitive one (and not one that I logically arrive at), and not based on the object itself. If not, how can I learn to make judgments of taste? How can I cultivate an ability to enjoy art and literature on this purely faculty-related level when my Reason is not even part of the equation?