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Chapter 4 - Beauty as a “Symbol of Morality”

The “Moral Image” of the “Supersensible Without”

from Part II - Aesthetic Judgment and the “Moral Image”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2023

Lara Ostaric
Affiliation:
Temple University, Philadelphia
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Summary

The aim of this chapter is to show how objects of beauty in the world indirectly exhibit the supersensible “without,” that is, the Idea of the highest good. This I take is the meaning of Kant’s claim that beauty is a “symbol of morality.” The fact that the experience of beauty serves as a sign that the world may be hospitable for the realization of the highest good can have a merely psychological significance, namely, that of maintaining the existent moral disposition. Yet, the significance of this sign can move beyond its merely psychological effects insofar as it reinforces the view that the final end must be the end of nature. The experience of beauty renders the Idea of the highest good objectively real in a special way, which adds the cognitive dimension to aesthetic experience that is best explained in proximity to Kant’s notion of practical cognition.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Beauty as a “Symbol of Morality”
  • Lara Ostaric, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: The <i>Critique of Judgment</i> and the Unity of Kant's Critical System
  • Online publication: 15 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336833.007
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  • Beauty as a “Symbol of Morality”
  • Lara Ostaric, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: The <i>Critique of Judgment</i> and the Unity of Kant's Critical System
  • Online publication: 15 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336833.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Beauty as a “Symbol of Morality”
  • Lara Ostaric, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: The <i>Critique of Judgment</i> and the Unity of Kant's Critical System
  • Online publication: 15 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336833.007
Available formats
×