Author:

Keywords:

metaphysics, beauty, transcendental concepts, realism, Kant, Aquinas, Arts & Humanities, Philosophy, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, 2203 Philosophy, 5003 Philosophy

Abstract:

The paper argues for a realistic understanding of beauty by showing that anti-realist approaches to beauty are not faithful to the phenomenology of experiencing beautiful objects. In a second step, beauty, especially natural beauty, is analysed in terms of a supervenient quality, more particularly as perceivable perfection. In turns out, however, that there are different and incompatible ways to spell out the underlying metaphysics of beauty in detail. One, rather 'Platonic' approach regards beauty as a transcendental concept whereas another, rather 'Aristotelian' approach refuses to do so. Nonetheless, the two approaches do not differ with respect to the phenomenology of beauty.