Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant

Kant is a German philosopher whose systematic and comprehensive work in the theory of ethics, knowledge and aesthetics influenced various schools of Kantianism and Idealism. He has tried to bridge the gap between empiricism and rationalism.

His aesthetic theory in the 'critique of judgement' has its foundation in the epistemological position, which he expounded in the “critique of Pure Reason". Here he proposed the existence of the manifold of sensation, the raw data collected and organized by the mind through the creative power of sensibility. The sensibility abstracts from the manifold formulation intellectually according to space and time, the “a priori" forms of consciousness. He says, we can never know directly' things in themselves’. We cost all our perceptions in to the forms of space and time. Like Hume, Kant has discussed two fundamental aspects of knowledge.

Perceptual: based on experience; a posterio, empiricism.
Conceptual: based on intellect, a priori, without experience, rationalism.

According to rationalists, mind is active in the process of knowledge. Therefore, it was wrong for the empiricist to believe that mind is passive in the process of knowledge so sensations are given meanings by the mind. The ideas are formed with the help of sense perceptions. There can be no concept in the lack of perception. Kant asserts, "Conception without perception is empty, perception without conception is blind." Thus, he blended empiricism (posteriori) and rationalism (a priori) and produced his own model of inquiry called "synthetic a priori".

A priori knowledge is independent of experience. Rationalists believe in a priori knowledge. A posteriori knowledge is based on experience. So as to resolve the conflict between the two- Kant proposed "synthetic priori" which is a belief that we can't know "things in themselves". We cannot objectively identify the world because we are bounded within the framework of space and time. His synthetic a priori proposes" free choice of God". For Kant, knowledge without experience is possible because our mind is not vacant, instead it is full of two elements- time (arithmetic) and space (geometry), and such knowledge is a priori. On the other hand in a posteriori we receive raw data from the external world through experience, these raw data enter in to the mind. Sense organs get raw data, which are filtered in the mind and the filtered data, are sent in to category pattern, only then such data take the form of thought or idea.

The faculty of sensibility a priori
The faculty of understanding a posteriori
The faculty of reasoning synthetic a priori

According to Kant, mind imposes order, which we see in the external world. While interacting with external world, we make judgement and judgements can be divided in to two parts: aesthetic and teleological. Aesthetic judgement (art) gives pleasure without any purpose of goodness; it is “purposiveness without purpose". If the art gives aesthetic pleasure it should not have external purpose. It should not be didactic whereas teleological judgement is value judgement. It is more dedicated to morality rather than reality. It teaches what is good or bad; that is, purpose oriented. Kant however goes against philosophy and teleological judgement both cannot lead us to reality but aesthetic judgement can. An object judged aesthetically can't be judged in terms of external purpose.

Kant makes comparison on three different kinds of satisfaction pleasant, which satisfies man, beautiful, pleases man, and good, has some purpose. Pleasure varies from person to person but beautiful is disinterested, free and universal.

Aesthetic judgement, according to him, is two kinds - Beautiful and Sublime. Beauty has form boundary and to perceive it one ought to reject pre-concept that destroys the notion of beautiful. Beauty cannot be generalized and to judge beauty, free mind is essential. The sublime however differs from the beautiful. Sublimity exists in mind which is absolutely great, vast and inexpressible concerned only with feeling. The source of sublimity is fear, pain and tragedy. To our imagination, the sublime object is formless and beyond cognition. There are two types of sublimity- mathematical and dynamic.