Abstract

The study deals with Kant's theory of aesthetics, which is mainly exposed in his "Critique of Judgment". This theory represents one of the most important interpretations of the problem of aesthetic being and is one of the best examples of the Cartesian account of the philosophical foundations of aesthetics. In the submitted study it is emphasized that Kant in his theory relied upon previous aesthetic theories of the 18th century, especially those of the German and English philosophers of the period of the Enlightenment. On the other hand it is stressed that Kant's conception was a great achievement in the field of original philosophical thought. Especially his conception of universal validity of aesthetic judgments apriori was an outstanding example of Kant's ability to find a new original solution of old philosophical problems. Kant's final humanistic account of aesthetics and its close relation to ethics is also very important