Particularizing the Universal: A Defence of Kantian Aesthetic Community

Although some commentators have acknowledged the communitarian dimension of Kant’s aesthetic theory, it is usually in the context of a criticism of the Kantian ideal of a universal community of beauty. In response to this criticism, this chapter explores three ways that Kant’s appeal to universal community is compatible with individual and cultural aesthetic differences. First, while all beauty for Kant involves the expression of aesthetic ideas, the symbolic representations through which universal ideas of reason are expressed can be culturally specific. Second, although the experience of beauty requires the same general mental state, namely, the harmonious free play of the faculties, this is compatible with differences in how particular subjects experience this state through the different perspectives they bring to aesthetic reflection. Third, there are important differences in how individuals choose to incorporate universal beauty into their lives.