To what extent does the sociology of taste undermins Kants notion of pure aesthetic judgement?

Kant and the Sociology of Taste

The sociology of taste is a modern discipline that is sometimes thought as undermining Kant 's theories of pure aesthetic judgment . Kant has supplied a rigorously rational analysis of aesthetic judgment , and describes the ideal which all such judgments tend to as `pure aesthetic judgment . But since the advent of sociology , through the likes of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber , aesthetic judgment tends to be explained in sociological terms , and the metaphysical approach of Kant is increasingly derided . But this argues that the sociology of taste

br such as is promoted by Pierre Bourdieu , has no bearing on Kant 's theories , because they do not address the same question

Kant is a philosopher , and he scarcely encroaches on the field of sociology . Of course a philosopher cannot ignore society . Kant alludes to society when he calls something practical , or contingent . Aesthetic judgment takes place in the context of society , as far as it is motivated by determinate ends . Only that part of it which transcends all determinate ends , and prefigures beauty , in its purity , and in its inexplicableness , may be said to be beyond the bounds of society . The object of Kant 's metaphysics is to point out how the contingent is ruled by the transcendental . Therefore , in his epistemology he makes out practical reason to be ruled by pure reason , and is his critique of morality he describes duty as being ruled by the categorical imperative His critiques of morality and judgment are in fact based on his epistemology , and not surprisingly bear the same structure (Kant 1987 br

. 225 . In his earlier analysis judgment was simply described as the sum of the various faculties of the mind , both innate and acquired , and which function towards perception and understanding . On the one hand there were the pure concepts of the mind , such as `cause and effect . On the other hand there was practical reason , which utilizes the universal concepts of the mind towards judgment of sensory perception . In the third critique however judgment is introduced as a faculty in its own right , and is said to be innate . Its function is to mediate between the universal concepts of the mind and practical reason . Two kinds of judgment are postulated - there are judgments `with a concept , and then those `without a concept . In the first case the concept contains enough information for the judgment to be made in a determinate fashion . But all the complexity arises from the second case in which the judgment turns out to be an original contribution over and above the facts of the matter . It is this sort of judgment that is classed as aesthetic , which in the ideal sense is described as `pure

We must immediately distinguish between aesthetic judgment and taste . To make this distinction Kant uses the example of judging fine art . We may express a painting to be beautiful , without it being required of us to explain our judgment . It is only the professional art...