Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime
Kant explores differences between feelings of beauty and sublimity through characters, social relationships and judgments about peoples.
Understanding the text
This pre-critical essay lacks the transcendental argument developed in the third Critique of 1790.
Key points
- 01
Feelings
Beauty attracts and charms while sublimity arouses a more solemn emotion.
- 02
Characters
Moral dispositions are connected with aesthetic sensitivities within a historical psychology.
- 03
Exclusions
National, racial and gendered portraits contain prejudices to analyze rather than naturalize.
How to read it
Compare the opening pages with the Critique of Judgment. Explicitly identify discriminatory generalizations instead of treating them as neutral observations about human beings.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗