AN EXAMINATION OF KANT'S AESTHETIC THEORY

This thesis is an attempt to interpret and reassess Kant's aesthetic theory not merely within the confines of the "Analytic of the Beautiful," but within the overall context of the "Critique of the Aesthetical Judgment" from the Critique of Judgment.;One assumption of the thesis is that an adequate aesthetic theory must attempt to provide a satisfactory account of the artist or the creative process, of the art object, and of aesthetic experience. This assumption provides the general framework for reassessing and examining Kant's theory of art. Another assumption of the thesis is that Kant's notion of the aesthetical idea is of central importance to his theory of art. The attempt to determine what is entailed in this notion is a unifying theme that reappears throughout the chapters comprising the thesis.;Chapter I, "The Aesthetical Idea," presents a general account of the aesthetical idea based on those passages in which Kant speaks of it directly. Comparisons are made between the aesthetical idea and the rational idea and their relationships to reason. An account of the role of imagination in creating aesthetical ideas is presented, along with the various mechanics involved in this. Certain underlying implications of Kant's remarks are also pursued. And finally an attempt is made to arrive at some sort of initial definition of the aesthetical idea.;Chapter II, "The Artist and the Creative Process," attempts to arrive at a satisfactory account of creative experience. The basic orientation here is that creation involves an element of inspiration and an element of control. The unique relationship of aesthetical ideas to genius is discussed, along with the nature of certain essential faculties possessed by genius. The issue of the artist's purposes and intentions is discussed, and the general purposive nature of the creative act as a whole, in view of certain apparent contradictions raised by Kant's remarks. Similar contradictions also give rise to an extensive discussion of the nature and role of rules as they enter into the creative act. The opposition between genius and taste as these apply to creation is considered, and their opposition removed when it is seen that these may finally be viewed as representing the elements of inspiration and control. Finally, the interaction and integral nature of inspiration and control is analyzed and related to the unity implied by the aesthetical idea.;Chapter III, "The Art Object," analyzes those of Kant's remarks which pertain to the various elements which may be discerned in a work of art. Kant's analysis of genres of art and the manner in which they express aesthetical ideas is examined, partly to discover the nature of those arts, but also to see if his analysis helps to define the notion of the aesthetical idea with any greater preciseness. A discussion of the work's formal properties, and what Kant means by form, is undertaken, as well as a comparable inquiry into the work's aesthetic or sensuous surface. It is also suggested how the aesthetical idea may bear on the formal and sensuous properties of the work.;Chapter IV, "Aesthetic Experience," attempts to spell out a view of aesthetic experience which is not confined to Kant's analysis of the beautiful. Since the aesthetical idea is not directly linked to aesthetic experience, certain ways in which such a connection may nevertheless be made are suggested. A view that aesthetic experience requires cultivation is argued. Finally, certain issues arising from Kant's account of beauty, and from Kant's account of the sublime, are presented insofar as they relate to the overall conception of aesthetic experience.