The Demands of Beauty: A Kantian Account of the Normative Force of Aesthetic Reasons

Abstract

My goal in this paper is to develop a Kantian account of the normative force of aesthetics reasons. While Kant himself would likely side with contemporary theorists who deny that aesthetic considerations, on their own, give rise to oughts and obligations, I argue that Kant's theory nevertheless gives us resources for explaining the normative force of aesthetic reasons. On this account, while aesthetic properties (in particular, beauty) give us merely enticing or inviting reasons, these reasons acquire greater normative force in the context of aesthetic communities. Insofar as we are members of such communities, we take on special obligations to attend to, appreciate, and preserve particular beautiful objects.