Criticism Of Kant's Aesthetics In The Philosophical Framework For Research,

â… The basic structure of Kantian a esthetics is based on his critical philosophy system. Kantian philosophy sets up Kantian aesthetics, i. e. the structure of Kantian aesthetics is philosophical. We can only probably explain the feature, structure, and function of Kantian aesthetics under the condition that the system of Kantianism has been logically unfolded, while logically unfolding the system of Kantianism depends on the grasping the historical vision and circumstances of the development of European modem philosophy. On this sense, logic and history are united.Kant admits that there exists "being" behind human and human's consciousness. But "being" is agnostic. It is "things in themselves" which provides empirical materials to human's Knowledge and provides the object of consciousness. Then the empirical materials can become consciousness after being constructed by the subject's ability. The constructual form of the subject is space-time. In Kant's theory, the time and space is subjective and can not be changed by the individual perceptual consciousness. It is part of the subjects. The time is the order of consciousness activities and the space is the structure of consciousness activities. The time is the order of consciousness activities and the space is the structure of consciousness activities. The consciousness what the experiences given by "things in themselves" presents under the construction of subject's intuitional form is phenomena. It is neither cognition not knowledge. It is only objective knowledge constructed by subjective cognition. The grasping of the phenomena by the subject is cognition and its out coming knowledge.In Kant's theory, there is a medium in the process of becoming self attribute of the phenomena by acquiring knowledge. This medium is understanding. As a kind of cognitional functions, it presents rich and varied logical framework. This logical framework is constituted by twelve categories. When the phenomena as object, has target relationship with the understanding who serves, as subjective function, the phenomena, as materials, will enter the structure of understanding and change itself structurally under the action of the subject. Then there arise a new corresponding attribute of the phenomena, and it will be presented in the consciousness, named knowledge.Reason refers to a kind of cognitional function. This kind of function aims atpursuing absolute knowledge. The absolute knowledge is stated as idea in Kant's words.Kant claims that individual activity can not be separated from the whole circumstances in ethnic field. Any personal action is not only individual, but also belong to the whole society. This is because and activity is not only individual, it is also synthesis from the judging viewpoint. In every consciousness activity, there always exists a common, general law. Kant sometimes calls it "Universal Law", which resorts to everyone's activity. This "law" is a priori, universal, at the same time, it is also empirical and specific. It presents different states of affairs in individual activity and real iced itself in different situations. Therefore, this "law" is a priori synthetic.It is from Kant that aesthetics becomes a necessary organization part of philosophy. Critique of Judgement on the one hand, enables his philosophy describes and explains human existent and consciousness systematically and organized as link of his pre two critiques, known as epistemology and ethics. On the other hand, Critique of Judgement is philosophical analysis of lots aesthetic artistic, phenomena.IIRational spirit is the inner strength of Kantian theoretical system. It is also the basic idea of Kantian aesthetics. We can say that reason is the philosophical, explanatory science of Kantian aesthetics, correspondingly, Kantian aesthetics is the theoretical text of reason is subjective emotional field. Explaining and restoring the original state of Kant's understanding of "reason" is the key to open the door of Kantian aesthetics.In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant claims that in order to assure the truth and the universal validity, the subject of knowledge should have another function, that is "reason", "Reason" is neither feeling nor logic. It is subjects value and concept; it is value regulation and judgement for grasping "phenomena" and "understanding".In other, the "reason", as value judgement in knowledge field is restored to the original universal will power of belief. This will power guarantees not only the existence of knowledge and science, but also the existence of human belief and social pattern. The realization of this universal will power in practical field is human's "freedom".While in the field of aesthetic judgement, "reason" manifests as "idea" that takes "freedom" as essence, "phenomena" as form and is based on "imagination". That is equal to say in aesthetic judgement, "idea" regards "freedom" as essence, which enables aesthetic judgement become a cultural activity of the subject. Under the action of "idea", aesthetic judgement turns into grasping human's nature and satisfying human's highestdemand. Mainwhile, "idea" is not equal to "reason" in the cognitional. It is not pure, speculative value judgement, which makes aesthetic judgement no cognition. Aesthetic judgement has no conception. It starts from perceptual object, deepens into rational content, but it always connects object, deepens into rational content, but it always connects with perceptual object. We can also say that "aesthetic judgement" is the "perceptual intuition" and harmonious movement incorporated with multi-cultural, psychological factors. It is based on feeling and takes "idea" as its core and medium.IllKantian aesthetics is multi-points of view and multi-dimensions. Since the beautiful is the special emotional process and form of human being, it can be understood as specified existing process and form of human being. Therefore the beautiful is closely bounded up with human existence. The dissecting of the existence consciousness of Kantian "critrcal philosophy" helps us to grasp the existence theory of the beautiful in Kantian aesthetics from the existence theory on philosophical level.Kant believes that in the relationship between human and nature, human "existence" reveals the subjective function as turning nature as man's object, constricting nature's agnosticism, ontology in to positive and phenomena. The subjective function consists of three types: "perception", "understanding" and "reason". All of them construct human "existence" in the relationship between human and nature.In the relationship between man and man, human and society, human's "existence" enables human to "exist" not only in subjective consciousness function and structural form, but also "exist" in subject's practice through objectivity, i.e, the unity and movement operated under the will power of moumenon and phenomena. Therefore human's "existence" is the arch of existence on ontological sense. The practical field is bestowed on nature and meaning by man. The realization of bestowing is the acquisition of "existence". In "critical philosophy", this process mainly contains two basic links: transcendence of oneself and introspection.Kant holds that transcendence is human's necessity and how to transcend is also certain. This is determined by the subjective will function. The will cans the subject to take himself as the only end, which is not individual, perceptual, biological, whereas it is social, rational and human. It is not a certain kind of object that possesses special contents, on the contrary it is subjective universal form that is profound and widespread.How to prove the transcendence on higher level? From Kant's point of view, man'scognition and action can not accomplish this task. The reason is that there exists an unbridgeable gap between them. Thus this two parts can not be connected directly. The function of thinking and the function of will seem powerless to prove on the higher level. The only thing that: can finish this task in aesthetic Judgement. The subjective function of aesthetic Judgement is feeling whose realm are all forms that accumulate from contents. Aesthetic Judgement is not cognition. It does not take concept as its medium. It is not practice either, therefore it has no direct ends. Whereas aesthetic judgement conforms with ends, and rules subjectively. Only in a esthetic judgement can cognition and practice have communication; can human being acquires the comprehensive proof of transcendence. That is introspection.IV"Critical philosophy" defines human being in three domains in the meantime: experience, moumenon, and practice. The culture created by man remodels man and shows three different general states, which Kant understands as "what", "be" and "How". "What" refers to superficial feature and function of culture in empirical field. Kant thinks that experience is human's basic existing form as perceptual life. It spreads from human's perceptual actively and can be controlled by subjective function of man's perception and cognition. "What" culture is to find out what exists in perceptual living activity in empirical field, what is the characteristics, what is the function and how it is related to human existence. Its cultural course shows as the cognitional process of human being and its achievement is scientific knowledge, "be" is moumenon existence, "be" culture is only freedom. The freedom is self-evident without and proof. Because it is endless, it can not "be correctly predicted by human being". The cultural statement about "be" is only reverence and approval. It is ultimate concern about human being himself. But human being himself. But human being, as the subject of statement and self-recognition, still exists in living actions. Living actions contain not only the grasping of empirical self but also internalizing the certainty of non-empirical nature. In this way constitutes the special process of actions for human being. In other words, human being always tries to find out new significance of existence and nature using new form; always asks questions to subject and object while demanding himself to answer these questions. This is the third state of ultimate "How", "How" culture enables human's living existence and nature affirmation never stop the limited sphere of history and natural process. On the contrary, it requires human being to continue planning his action in order to set up the action modelof personal finiteness and collective infiniteness. It also asks man to construct his own existing value, find his our nature meaning and develop subjective function.Once life becomes history, it is provided with physical value and cultural value at the same time. When Kant considers history as temporal structure and "representational " order, he calls human being "limited existing person". Whereas history itself is a ontological structure, i. e, history is the spreading and declaration of existing person by giving all existing things in the world the ability to exist. To the whole living person, it is only comfort for the present take if he admits freedom only in ontological will field. The result is only to stimulate the desire of individual will. What is more important is to experience, realize, comprehend and practice the freedom in our daily and phenomenal life. It's not only establishing infinite freedom in onto logical life, which makes infinite free down not only human belief, but as living pattern possessed by ^man. The history, then will become the true, practical, rational history. The historical channel through which freedom returns to daily life is aesthetic judgement and artistic creation.From the origin of the beautiful, Kant starts to meditate on the nature of the beautiful, and he proposes the argumentation that subjective aesthetic judgement of taste is the origin of the beautiful.The aesthetic judgement of taste must exist before experience. Transcendental doesn't mean "superscendental". The aesthetic judgement of taste unites cognition and practice together only in experience and through the judgement of experience. At the same time, it also means that in the aesthetic judgement, the speciality and phenomena conform with the existing purpose of the universal and moumenon. All of the characteristics of the aesthetic judgement of taste enable the beautiful to exist by the medium of a series of subjective functions.Kant believes that the origin of the beautiful only explains where comes the beautiful but it does not make clear what is the beautiful. The origin of the beautiful is not the nature of the beautiful. The nature of the beautiful is the attributes of four aspects: quality, quantity, modality and relation presented by the subject and the object when the nature of the beautiful has constructional relationship with the world as the subjective judgement of the origin of the beautiful. Kant cans it moment of aesthetic judgement. The moment of aesthetic judgement occurred in the process of aesthetic judgement between the caste ofjudgement and the world is the true nature of the beautiful. This viewpoint of Kant eliminates the misleading metaphysics which occupies a commanding position for a long time in western aesthetics. It also transfers the study of the nature of the beautiful to "the beautiful itself. All of these steps forward for Kant's entering into artistic realm and re-constructing the nature of the beautiful.Through the observation of four subjective moments, Kant believes the following four ideas:1 .The beautiful does not relate to the content of the object and is not connected with functional feature. The beautiful is not practice.2.The beautiful is onside judgement. It does not involve concept. The beautiful is not cognition.3.The beautiful does not involve clear concept and purpose, but it enables the form of the object to coincide the subjective intentional activity. The beautiful has no purpose but agree with purpose at the same time.4. The beautiful is a corresponding comes that combines purposive university and validity.VIKant firmly believes that free will is the ultimate moumenon. Free will can not be grasped through cognition. It can only be realized in human practical activities. Therefore, the relationship between man and world lies in the fields between cognition and practice. But man must be There really exist different realms and different patterns of man's existence. These different realms and patterns should connect with each other and contribute to each other. Therefore, there must exist a kind of subjective ability that connects cognitional activity and practical activity, empirical world and ontological world. This ability does not belong to understanding nor reason, whereas it can unite these two capabilities. Together. Kant defines this subjective ability as "Judgement". That sense as medium. The judgement express two kinds: the ability that identifies if a special thing belongs to a kind of general rule is called determinative judgement. The ability that is to find the general rules based on a special thing is caned reflective judgement. It need to be pointed out that no matter what kind of judgement, it is not pure subjective consciousness or idea. It is the subjective ability to produce consciousness and construct the object of consciousness.Reflective judgement is the original source to produce the beautiful and the sense of the beautiful. The first thing it confronts during the process to find out universal moumenon from individual phenomenon is empirical phenomenon. The rational moumenon can be shown by reflection judgement through the construction of empirical experience. Therefore, reflective judgement must exist before experience. Transcendence does not meat super-experience. The reflective judgement must come back to experience and judge the experience first, then it can unite cognition and practice together. At the same time, this also means that in reflective judgement, speciality and phenomena corresponds to the existence of universe and moumenon. All the function of reflective judgement become the fundemental criticism about the beautiful and the sense of the beautiful through a series of subjective functions.In the objective relationship between man and world, the objects being constructed includes two kinds. The first kind is called logical reconstruction by Kant, which describes an object to be described in the logical operation. This object has no identity with the subjective ability, It only remains the explanatory unity with the subjective ability on descriptive logical sense, such as the object of scientific research. This kind of object has the significance of analyzing phenomenology. The other kind is called ontological reconstruction by Kant. Because the object is produce by the externalization of the subject during the process of construction. The object produced during the process of aesthetic judgement-the beautiful obviously belongs to this kind. To aesthetics," the subjective aspect of can not be taken as a cognitional function, It only relates to the pleasant and unpleasant side of the subject. Therefore, we know nothing about the objective aspect of, "That means the existence of the beautiful is related to the subject. It is the externalization of the aesthetic judgement of the subject. It has "displaying" relationship with the existence of aesthetic subject. The beautiful manifests the total inner strength i.e. human freedom of the aesthetic subject. Kant holds that freedom is the nature why human being becomes the subject of the world. This freedom is non-material, and anti-material. The beautiful that is externalized by the aesthetic judgement is creative appearance of the subjective free done in the form of the object.VIIOne of the core viewpoint of Kant's grace theory is that the object of aesthetic Judgement is taken as a form. The reason why grace is transcendental form and possesses beyond is that the so called aesthetic form must correspond to the individual cognitionalfunction when it is shown by the individual. The beyond makes the understanding ability harmonize with imagination, thus brings the individual the sense of the beautiful. Meanwhile, this form enables any individual to acquire the feeling of aesthetic judgement when grasping it. In this way, not only this form is necessary and universal, but also the sore-side judgement of that individual possesses university and necessity. This whole process is defined as conformity to aim by Kant. By nature, grace is structural conformity to aim.Kant thinks that the conformity to aim of grace possesses two characteristics. First, as aesthetic object, grace has no relation with perceptual content, therefore it does not involve and concept related to the objective content. The second characteristic of the conformity to aim of grace is that the concept here never involves functions of desire. As the object of aesthetic judgement, it is merely a kind of form and does not relate to any perceptual contents about practice.Kant claims that the comprehension of sublime must base on the subject and find the answer of the construction of sublime outside the field of cognition. To his understanding, the only realistic subject in the universe is man. Human being is not only the phenomena in cognitional field, but also the moumenon that surpass the cognitional field. Because anything except human being is not general predicate. They have no specific certainty. There fore they can only be bestowed quality by man.In Critique of Judgement, the author holds that in the emotional objective relationships which is composed by the subject and unconsciousness made by the nature where as tending towards cognition, manifests not only the beautiful, but also the sublime. The former is related to the quality of the judgement which the subject acts on the object, i.e. the harmonious positive of the unity between the objective form and the subjective imagination and cognitional ability; the latter is related to the quantity of the judgement which the subject acts on the object, i.e. the destruction of the unity between the object and the subjective imagination and cognitional ability, where as this negative destruction leads to the great magnanimity shown by the subjective reason. To the object.To negate the unity between the subjective imagination and understanding of the object and the different from to evoke the rational ability to control the object is the dividing point by Kant to separate these two kinds of sublime.The sublime consists of two kinds: dynamically sublime and mathematical sublime.The negative feature of sublime has a deep and complicated subjective motional mechanism. The subject of sublime judgement feels strong sense of pain whenunderstanding the object. This pain is the result when the subjective cognitional function was negated by the object. On further level, the sense of pain has profound reasons. The loss of harmony between imagination and cognition ability is the yield that the subject give to the nature. It is the limited representation of many factors that constituting the subject. It is also the negation for the freedom of mans nature. While Kant holds that Just because the negation of the imagination and cognitional ability to the subject itself. And enables the object to appear as a whole. But the whole with infiniteness enables the subject to evoke a supersensible function, i.e. reason from the non-adaptability for the estimation of the existing quantity in the perceptual world. Reason uncovers the phenomenal limitation of imagination and cognition. Mean while, reason transferred this phenomenal feature into ontological feature, therefore, imagination and cognition are rearranged and blended together. At this time, reason not only negates the limitation and perception of imagination and cognitional ability, it also let the subject feel the power and superiority over the object in the judgement. Finally, it sublime the violence to man by natural object and helps reason become the affirm of the subjective. Rational value; become the proof that man can conquer the non-human existence which oppresses man violate the subject. That is the reason why after feeling the painful sense when the subjective emotion is trying to grasp the infiniteness and power of the object, the subject will obtain, a kind of comprehending happiness based on the negation of the physical painful sense. This kind of comprehending happiness is not perceptual, it is rationalized. It is not only the brimful vitality, it is also the establishment and extension of personal will.VIIIKant holds that the relationship between the artist and arts is not temporal. The artists existing before the arts are not the residence of the arts. The artists proceeding ahead do not mean the latter artistic works, because the artist can not decide the nature of arts. On the other hand, the relationship between the artist and arts is not phenomena lived. Empirical either. The artist is not the habitat for the arts. The arts are not the attribute of artists. Thereafter, there does not exist the decisive causality between the artist and arts. On natural aspect, the origin of the artist and arts is art. Art determines the artist and arts simultaneously.Art is the origin of the artist and arts. Origin means the resource or a starting point of something. The reason why the artist becomes arts does not depend on artists, and artistscannot been called artists based on arts either. Then, what's the nature of art? Kant claims that the nature of art is aesthetic judgement, which is the special existing form of the subject.The artist appears as the subject in the process of artistic Creation, while artistic works are both object being created and achievement of artist's activities in the process of artistic creation. It is the objective existence created by the artists. On existing level, although the artist and arts have close relationship, it is independent, autonomous existence in nature. The artist and arts existing independently exist because of their common original art. The art opens the door to the special truth of human existence. Its construction must be realized as a genious form in the process of creation. The truth expressed by art in the genius creation process accords to the natural requirement and historical purpose.To Kant, artistic works means the artistic realization of aesthetic judgement. Art opens the door to aesthetic judgement just through artistic works. In other words, artistic works does not mean a certain kind of text only. It is more important that works is a kind of form, the basic existing form that not generalizes the nature of aesthetic judgement itself. Thus , the truth of works lies in the fact whether it could generally express the nature of aesthetic judgenent of art or not. in critical philosophy one of the most basic attributes of aesthetic judgement is that it belongs to individual and possesses universal validity. To the works the basic existing form of art, generally expressing the nature of aesthetic judgement means how the nature of aesthetic judgement of art represents itself in the works. Kant thinks that in artistic works, the nature of the art represents itself by the idea of the beautiful and image of aesthetic judgenert. Mainwhile, it establishes the existence of artistic works.IXKantian critical philosophy regards education as the basic process during which mankind surpasses nature and obtains true freedom. His philosophy is not only different from Greek understanding of education constructed on human spiritual dimension, but also is different from the idea of 18th century thinkers of Enlightment movement that uses education as the tool to reform the masses of the people and transform the society. Kantian critical philosophy interprets education as the path through which the individual acquires universal ethic form and knowledge, then identifies the group, eventually moves towards the society. Education is also the only way on which mankind realizes the goal ofunifying perception and reason, coordinating physiology and sychology, nature and humanity.Before the emergence of critical philosophy, people only think over the relationship among the beautiful, aesthetic judgement and education on spiritual dimension. Therefore, it seems that these three items are related, meanwhile, they are independent respectively. Kant reconstructs the relationship between the beautiful and aesthetic judgement. He claims that the beautiful is not objective reality and aesthetics judgement is not the knowledge and reflection of the beautiful. Both the beautiful and aesthetic judgement origate from the ability of aesthetics judgement, they are the spreading of this ability on subjective and objective aspect at the same time. The subjective category can not explain the ability of aesthetics judgement; the objective category has no way to interprete it either. The ability of aesthetics judgement synthesizes the subject and the object, then it surpasses both of them. Different from spiritual phenomena, the ability of aesthetics judgement, as subjective function, is cultivated from education. The subjective function can be generated and spreaded out only in education. That is to say, education is the process to cultivate and develop the subjective function. Just on the interface of creating and cultivating subjective function, Kant enables aesthetics judgement and education meet each other and regards art as the main process to realize human freedom.Kant holds that the systematized knowledge is science and the application of materialized science is technology, whose origin is from the subject's cognitive ability. Whereas, the cognitive ability is not infinite.When the relationship between the cognitive ability and objective construction oversteps the domain of experience, the result of cognition will lose the unity of the object. Therefore, people can not get unitary and unanimous judgement. For instance, technology can not solve problems for such issues: belief, morality, happiness and responsibility which are out of time and space. That is to say, technology can solve any problem arise from natural world and can solve problem that is n\materialized and related to time and space in human society. In Kant's words, technology can solve any problems in empirical field, but seems powerless to solve the human issues about man's will feeling, etc.Kant sets up God from sense of morality. This is a moral God and it is the only affirmative where God exists. In this affirmative, the internal rational spirit leads us to an...