The Scope of Aesthetic Consciousness

In this opening chapter, Section I sets out the most essential features of Husserl’s understanding of aesthetic consciousness, namely, its status as mode of valuing grounded in the realm of sensory and/or phantasy appearance , which involves the disinterested appreciation of such appearances. A number of comparisons and contrasts are made with Kant’s aesthetics (with which Husserl’s has some affinity). We then move on to discussion of the varieties of aesthetic object that Husserl identifies. Section II addresses those arising from ‘external perception,’ most notably the aesthetic consciousness of nature, and Section III discusses the aesthetics of phantasy as such, and of the spatial arts, and of the symbolically presented arts of literature and music. In Section IV , we address the interesting general significance that Husserl assigns to the aesthetic and beauty, and in the Conclusion, we offer a critical review of his theory overall and a further development of one of its most interesting points.