ABSTRACT
Kant’s concern to establish the grounds of freedom in a way compatible with moral obligation drew him to the positive hedonic tone of the kind of reflection evoked by aesthetic judgments of nature. The argument in this chapter proceeds by identifying a connection among aesthetic pleasure (satisfaction in reflective judgment), communication and community. For Kant the relevant term for this connection was “taste.” In order to trace this interest in “taste” to an interest in “moral motivation,” we begin by examining the tradition in which Kant’s notion of aesthetic pleasure originated. The chapter closes by considering how Kant’s pragmatist legacy might be conceived in terms of contemporary pragmatist aesthetic theories.
