Aesthetic disinterestedness

Abstract

The concept of aesthetic disinterestedness is a brainchild of Kant. The word disinterested should not be perceived to mean a lack of interest exhibited by being indifferent. Instead, its focus is on the artwork itself, which speaks to finding satisfaction in the way the work of art appears; for its own sake. When individuals find satisfaction of an aesthetic nature in an object of art using disinterestedness, they are essentially seeing the object in or for itself; the enjoyment is being extracted from the object in its own right as opposed to what the purpose of that project is.

Meanwhile, the judgment of an artwork should not be based on the historical background of an artist’s experience. However, it has often seemed impossible for most people, who are not skilled in the art of judging works of art to find satisfaction in an artwork purely on the basis of disinterestedness. People often find themselves interested in the background and experiences of the artist. Spectators often want to associate themselves with the artwork via the kind of elements which are opposed to the concept of disinterestedness. For instance, discussions linked to Van Gough are often allied to his mental problems and his life of misery.

The focus of my dissertation is aesthetics of disinterestedness and its limitations.