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The Exposition of Ugliness and Its Relation to the Judgment of Taste in Kant’s Philosophical System Based on the Interpretations of His Commentators
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Somayeh Ramezanmahi *   |
| Soore University |
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Abstract: (1617 Views) |
During the flourishing of the Enlightenment, Kant attributed to beauty an identity distinct from morality and reason, elaborating on its various dimensions. In the Critique of Judgment, by examining judgments of taste, Kant delineates the boundary between the beautiful and the sublime and elucidates their independent role in attaining universal cognition. However, he remains silent on the concept of ugliness. Given that the embodiment of ugliness occupies a significant portion of artistic works, this article seeks to critique and analyze the role of ugliness in achieving universal cognition within Kantian aesthetics, as interpreted by his commentators. Employing a qualitative, descriptive-analytical methodology and drawing on library and documentary sources, this study addresses the following question: What is the relationship between ugliness and universal cognition from a Kantian perspective?
The findings indicate that while there are two divergent interpretations among Kantian commentators, the conceptualization of ugliness can be grounded in a more profound negation. Accordingly, negative judgments of taste belong to the category of reflective aesthetic judgments and can be analyzed through the fourfold structure of judgments of taste as follows: Quality: Displeasure devoid of interest (interesselose Unlust), Quantity: Equivalent to universal validity, Relation: Counter-purposiveness (Zweckwidrigkeit) without a purpose, Modality: Necessarily displeasing. Thus, ugliness embodies a negative purposiveness that generates a discordant free play between the faculties of imagination and understanding. Although more complex, this dissonance may ultimately aspire to harmony.
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| Keywords: Aesthetic Judgment, Ugliness, Beauty, Critique of Judgment, Immanuel Kant |
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Full-Text [PDF 540 kb]
(701 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2024/12/5 | Accepted: 2025/04/29
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