Critique of Judgement (Bernard Translation)

...freedom of the pure judgment of taste from the bondage original: "thraldom" of concepts.

Finally, the satisfaction provided by the contemplation of a beautiful object is a necessary satisfaction. To be sure, this necessity is not "theoretical," like the necessity found in the Law of Causality The scientific principle that every effect must have a cause.; nor is it a "practical" necessity, such as the requirement to accept the Moral Law Kant’s "Categorical Imperative," the internal duty to act according to universal reason. as the guiding principle of our behavior. Instead, it may be called exemplary; that is, we may treat our satisfaction in a beautiful picture as an example that should be followed by others. It is clear, however, that this can only be assumed if we accept certain conditions. We must assume the idea of a common sense original: sensus communis in which all people share. Just as knowledge can be communicated to others, so can the feeling for beauty. The relationship between the mental faculties required for Taste is the same as that required for intelligence or sound Understanding. Since we always assume that other people possess the same capacity for understanding as we do, we may also assume they possess the same capacity for taste.

The analysis of the Sublime The feeling of awe or overwhelm inspired by things of great magnitude or power, such as the ocean or a mountain range. which follows that of the Beautiful is interesting and profound; indeed, the philosopher Schopenhauer regarded it as the best part of the Critique of Aesthetic Judgment. The general characteristics of our judgments about the Sublime are similar to those already established for the Beautiful, but there are marked differences between the two cases. While the pleasure found in beauty arises from a feeling of the purposiveness The quality of appearing as if designed for a purpose, even if no specific use is known. of the object in its relation to the person observing it, the pleasure found in sublimity...