Satisfaction in an action because of its moral character is on the
other hand not the pleasure of enjoyment, but of spontaneity and its
accordance with the Idea of its destination. But this feeling, called
moral, requires concepts, and presents not free purposiveness, but
purposiveness that is conformable to law; it therefore admits of being
universally communicated only by means of Reason, and, if the pleasure
is to be homogeneous for every one, by very definite practical concepts
of Reason.
Pleasure in the Sublime in nature, regarded as a pleasure of rational
contemplation, also makes claim to universal participation; but
it presupposes, besides, a different feeling, viz. that of our
supersensible destination, which, however obscurely, has a moral
foundation. But that other men will take account of it, and will find
a satisfaction in the consideration of the wild greatness of nature
(that certainly cannot be ascribed to its aspect, which is rather
terrifying), I am not absolutely justified in supposing. Nevertheless,
in consideration of the fact that on every suitable occasion regard
should be had to these moral dispositions, I can impute such
satisfaction to every man, but only by means of the moral law which on
its side again is based on concepts of Reason.
On the contrary, pleasure in the Beautiful is neither a pleasure
of enjoyment nor of a law-abiding activity, nor even of rational
contemplation in accordance with Ideas, but of mere reflection. Without
having as rule any purpose or fundamental proposition, this pleasure
accompanies the ordinary apprehension of an object by the Imagination,
as faculty of intuition, in relation with the Understanding, as faculty
of concepts, by means of a procedure of the Judgement which it must
also exercise on behalf of the commonest experience; only that in
the latter case it is in order to perceive an empirical objective
concept, in the former case (in aesthetical judgements) merely to
perceive the accordance of the representation with the harmonious
(subjectively purposive) activity of both cognitive faculties in their
freedom, _i.e._ to feel with pleasure the mental state produced by
the representation. This pleasure must necessarily depend for every
one on the same conditions, for they are subjective conditions of the
possibility of a cognition in general; and the proportion between
these cognitive faculties requisite for Taste is also requisite for
that ordinary sound Understanding which we have to presuppose in
every one. Therefore he who judges with taste (if only he does not go
astray in this act of consciousness and mistake matter for form or
charm for beauty) may impute to every one subjective purposiveness,
_i.e._ his satisfaction in the Object, and may assume his feeling to be
universally communicable and that without the mediation of concepts.
§ 40. _Of Taste as a kind of_ sensus communis
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