Part I: Critique of the Aesthetical Judgement 

Jack McGuire 

First Book: Analytic of the Cognitive Faculties of the Mind 

1. Of the Cognitive Process of Imagination  

In order to make any aesthetic judgment, one must first attempt to synthesize the presentation of form via one’s own sensory perception. The faculty of mind responsible for the synthesis of form is one’s imagination. The imagination takes in what one, knowing that humans are sensible by nature, senses and attempts to form a clear presentation within the mind of the subject. One concept to be aware of, however, is the fact that these presentations, within the subject’s mind, are not determinately applicable to the sensed object itself. This is due to the fact that one cannot possibly know objects as things in themselves; the determinate and aesthetic claims made about them are merely subjective claims of the universality of its presentation made by a separate faculty of mind.  

2. The Determinate Powers of Understanding 

Determinative claims made about the presentation of an object can only be made by one faculty of mind: the understanding. The understanding comes into play when the imagination synthesizes a complete form; it then applies concepts to help the subject in making subjectively universal claims about the object’s presentation. Again, it is not a claim about the object itself, but merely its presentation. When the imagination fails to synthesize an object that is not fully formed or is simply too large for it to realize the totality, then the understanding cannot apply concepts or make claims. This is when the last faculty of mind must take over to demand a complete form.  

3. Of the Moral and Rational Powers of Reason 

In striving to be moral, one refers to their own powers of reason to determine what is good or moral. In aesthetic judgments, reason is used to demand totality from the imagination. Its power stems from one’s supersensible ability to think the totality without being able to imagine it. This power is more universal than understanding, since understanding is a part of one’s sensible side, which can change due to cultural or geographic location, and reason is the supersensible gift, which brings one closest to the divine, due to its moral nature.  

Second Book: Analytic of Judgments of Beauty and Sublimity 

4. “Of the Ideal of Beauty” 

An experience of beauty happens when the subject’s imagination and understanding are at free play. Free play between these two faculties is the result of a process, which constitutes an aesthetic judgement of beauty. The first step is the sensory perception of an object, which is then synthesized by the imagination into a form. The understanding then realizes its power to make determinate claims about the form, but in its disinterest chooses not to do so. Thus begins the free play between the understanding and the imagination. The subject then has feelings of pleasure and claims the form as universally beautiful. However, the pleasure felt is caused by self-reflection on the harmony between one’s powers of understanding and imagination. 

5. “Of the Divisions of an Investigation into the Feeling of the Sublime” 

When the imagination fails to synthesize a complete form, the understanding cannot conceptualize it, so the faculty of reason steps in to demand form. In doing so, the imagination is stretched to its maximum trying to provide a totality, and since it is incapable, but still able to ever expand, it realizes its power to expand indefinitely. The imagination realizing its powers of unboundedness is only a step towards an experience of sublimity. The subject, being rational in nature, realizes, through the cognitive power of reason, that they can think the totality of the form, without actually synthesizing the form via one’s imagination. This ability to think totality only occurs in the cognitive faculty of reason, not imagination. Much like that of a judgement of beauty, reason, standing in for understanding, realizes this power within a judgement of sublimity, giving the subject self-reflective feelings of pleasure.  

6. “General Remark upon the Exposition of the Aesthetical Reflective Judgement” 

The similarities between judgments of beauty, and those of sublimity, have now become quite apparent. Both derive their pleasure from self-reflection on the powers that are inherent within each cognitive faculty. Whether it is the determinative powers of understanding, the unboundedness of imagination, or the power to think totality that comes with reason; each of these faculties creates pleasure when it is realized by the subject. The most obvious difference between judgements of beauty and sublimity, is which cognitive faculty works with the imagination. In judgements of beauty, it is understanding; and in sublimity, reason. Both, as universally claimable aesthetic judgements, are subjective in nature; one by sensibility and the determinative power of understanding; and the other in its super-sensibility and rational power of reason.  

Works Cited 

Immanuel Kant, Kant’s Critique of Judgement. Translated with Introduction and Notes by J.H. Bernard (2nd ed. revised)(London: Macmillan, 1914). http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1217