The Cradle of Aesthetics: Origins of aesthetic theory in

18th Century Britain, France and Germany

Autonomes Tutorium by Aleksandar Jevremovic
Seminar plan and reference list proposal

The Tutorium The Roots of Aesthetics deals with the question about the origins of modern aesthetics as an
autonomous philosophical discipline through the in-depth analysis of early and mid 18th century aesthetic
theories. Foundation of aesthetics is for the most part connected with A.G. Baumgarten’s seminal work
Meditationes, where he famously gave a name to the discipline. Unfortunately, philosophical interest in the
origins of aesthetic theory usually stops there. The purpose of this Tutorium is to go beyond this claim and to
raise doubts about whether Baumgarten’s baptism was a late one.

The seminar consists of four parts. The first part covers British theories of taste from arguably the first
conception of aesthetics as an independent philosophical discipline in the works of Anthony Ashley Cooper,
Third Earl of Shaftesbury to the highly sophisticated theories of Hume, Reid, and Allison. The second part
deals with what is canonically considered to be the theoretical foundation of the discipline - Baumgarten's
characterization of aesthetics as a “science of lower cognition”. The third part takes into consideration often
neglected, but incredibly influential french (language) aesthetics with the main focus on Crousaz’s, DuBos’,
Andre’s and Batteux’s theories. Finally, the fourth part plays with the image of Immanuel Kant as a great
synthesizer of 18th-century philosophy’s major traditions (rationalism and empiricism) and, a fortiori, major
aesthetic traditions.

Dealing with all three main schools of aesthetics instead of just one is somewhat unorthodox when it comes
to theoretical reflections on the origins of aesthetics. This approach loses on the clarity and unity of the
narrative that can be built around a single school. However, it rests on the assumption that a greater scope
and range can lead to reframing the problem and gaining new perspectives.

Tutorium has several goals. Firstly, it places canonic aesthetic theories in their historical context, that is, in
the same context with some of the non-canonic texts. This can lead to a deeper understanding of those
theories. For example, the reason why Hume introduces a dispositional structure of aesthetic properties can
only be properly understood with reference to Hutcheson’s purely subjectivist and other purely objectivist
accounts on the nature of aesthetic value. Secondly, the range and scope of the texts it covers enable the
Tutorium to explore the relationship between different traditions, for example, early theories of Wolff,
Leibniz, DuBos, and Addison. Third and probably the most important goal of the Tutorium is to trace back
some of the most important aspects of modern-day aesthetic theory to its beginnings in the 18th century. This
should allow the participants to distance themselves from everyday aesthetic concepts and to form a critical
attitude towards deeply entrenched theoretical presuppositions through the analysis of its genesis.
 Part I: British Theories of Taste

1. Framing the problem: origins of modern aesthetics

Primary text:
a) Guyer, P., 2004, “The Origins of Modern Aesthetics: 1711–1735,” in The Blackwell Guide to
Aesthetics, P. Kivy (ed.), Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
b) Guyer, P., 1993, “The dialectic of disinterestedness: I. Eighteenth-century aesthetics,” in Kant
and the Experience of Freedom: Essays on Aesthetics and Morality, New York: Cambridge
University Press
Artworks to discuss:
- Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews, 1750

- Thomas Gainsborough, The Blue Boy, 1750

- Thomas Gainsborough, Cornard Wood, 1747

2. Shaftesbury: introducing disinterestedness

Primary text:
c) Cooper, A. (Third Earl of Shaftesbury), 1711/2001, Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions,
Times, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Excerpts
Secondary literature (optional):
d) Stolnitz. Jerome . “ On the Origins of ‘Aesthetic Disinterestedness .’” Journal of Aesthetics and
Art Criticism 20 ( 1961 ): 131 – 43 .
e) Stolnitz Jerome, “ On the Significance of Lord Shaftesbury in Modern Aesthetic Theory .”
Philosophical Quarterly 11 ( 1961 ): 97 – 113
f) Townsend , Dabney “ Shaftesbury’s Aesthetic Theory .” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
41 ( 1982 ): 205 – 13
g) Rind, M., 2002, “The Concept of Disinterestedness in Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics,”
The Journal of the History of Philosophy, 40: 67–87
Artworks to discuss:
- Greuze, Morning Prayer, ca. 1780
- Jean Siméon Chardin, Soap Bubbles, ca. 1733–34

3. Hutcheson: aesthetic sense

Primary texts:
h) Hutcheson, F., 1726/2004, An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue, W.
Leidhold (ed.), Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Excerpts
i) Hutcheson, F,. 1742/2002, An Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections,
with Illustrations on the Moral Sense, A. Garrett (ed.), Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Excerpts
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Costelloe, T., 2013, The British Aesthetic Tradition From Shaftesbury to Wittgenstein,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter on Hutcheson
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Hutcheson
c) Kivy, P., 2003, The Seventh Sense: Francis Hutcheson & Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics,
2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press, Excerpts
Artworks to discuss:
- William Hogarth, illustrations in the Analysis of Beauty, 1753

- William Hogarth, Marriage a la Mode, 1743-1745

4. Addison: introducing free play

Primary texts:
a) Addison, J., and Steele, R., 1879, The Spectator, A. Chalmers (ed.), New York: D. Appleton,
Selected Essays
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Costelloe, T., 2013, The British Aesthetic Tradition From Shaftesbury to Wittgenstein,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter on Addison
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter Addison
5. Hume: dispositional structure of aesthetic properties
Primary texts:
a) Hume, D., 1739–40/1987, A Treatise of Human Nature, 2nd ed., L. A. Shelby-Bigge (ed.),
Oxford: Clarendon Press, Excerpts
b) Hume, D., 1757/1987, “Of the Standard of Taste,” in Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, ed.
E. Miller, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Whole
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Costelloe, T., 2013, The British Aesthetic Tradition From Shaftesbury to Wittgenstein,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter Hume
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Hume
c) Townsend, D., 2003, Hume’s Aesthetic Theory: Sentiment and Taste, London: Routledge Press.
d) Townsend, D., 1991, “Lockean Aesthetics,” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 49:
349–361
Artworks to discuss:
- Sir Joshua Reynolds, Self-protrait, ca. 1780

- John Constable, The Hay Wain, 1821

- Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784.

6. Home and Gerard: Association I

Primary texts:
a) Home, H. (Lord Kames), 1762/2005, The Elements of Criticism, 2 vols, P. Jones (ed.),
Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Excerpts
b) Gerard, A., 1759, An Essay on Taste, London, Excerpts
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Costelloe, T., 2013, The British Aesthetic Tradition From Shaftesbury to Wittgenstein,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter on Gerard and Home
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Sections on Gerard and Home
Artworks to discuss:
- George Stubbs, Mares and Foals in a River Landscape, ca.1763–8

- William Hogarth, The Rake's Progress, 1734

7. Allison: Association II
Primary text:
Alison, A., 1811, Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste, Edinburgh: Bell and Bradfute
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Costelloe, T., 2013, The British Aesthetic Tradition From Shaftesbury to Wittgenstein,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter on Allison
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Allison

Part II: German Aesthetics

8. Wolff and Leibniz: the epistemological status of sense data

Primary texts:
a) Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, “Meditations on Knowledge, Truth, and Ideas,” in Leibniz,
Philosophical Papers and Letters, translated and edited by Leroy E. Loemker, second edition
(Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1969)
b) Wolff, Christian, The Principles of Architecture, in The Principles of All Mathematical
Sciences, new edition (Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Halle: Renger, 1750–57, reprint Hildesheim:
Georg Olms, 1999)
Secondary litarature (optional):
a) Beiser, Frederick C., 2009, Diotima's Children: German Aesthetic Rationalism from Leibniz to
Lessing, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter on Wolff and Leibniz
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapters on Wolff and Leibniz
9. Gottsched: toward a Critical Poetics for the German
Primary text:
a) Gottsched, Johann Christoph, Schriften zur Literatur, edited by Horst Steinmetz (Stuttgart:
Philipp Reclam jun., 1972)

Secondary literature (optional):

a) Beiser, Frederick C., 2009, Diotima's Children: German Aesthetic Rationalism from Leibniz to
Lessing, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter on Gottsched
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Gottsched
Artworks to discuss:
- Giambattista Tiepolo, The Marriage of the Emperor Frederick and Beatrice of Burgundy, 1751–52

- Sanssouci Palace, ca. 1740

- Balthasar Neumann, Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen, 1743-1772

10. Baumgarten: foundation of aesthetics?
Primary text:
a) Gottsched, Johann Christoph, Schriften zur Literatur, edited by Horst Steinmetz (Stuttgart:
Philipp Reclam jun., 1972), Excerpts
b) Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb, Metaphysics, translated by Courtney D. Fugate and John
Hymers (London: Bloomsbury, 2013), Excerpts
c) Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb, Meditationes philosophicae de nonnullis ad poema
pertinentibus/Philosophische Betrachtungen über einige Bedingungen des Gedichtes, edited by
Heinz Paetzold (Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag, 1983). English translation by Karl
Aschenbrenner and William B. Holther, Reflections on Poetry: Alexander Gottlieb
Baumgarten's Meditationes philosophicae de nonnullis ad poema pertinentibus (Berkeley and
Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1954), Excerpts
Secondary literature (optional):
a) Beiser, Frederick C., 2009, Diotima's Children: German Aesthetic Rationalism from Leibniz to
Lessing, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter on Gottsched
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Gottsched

Part III: French Aesthetics

11. Crousaz
Primary text:
a) Crousaz , Jean-Pierre de . A New Treatise of the Art of Thinking, or a Complete System of
Reflections . London , 1724
Secondary literature (optional):
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Crousaz
Artworks to discuss:
- Peter Paul Rubens, Marie de' Medici cycle, 1622-25

- Correggio, Leda and the swan, ca. 1530

- Tizian, The Pastoral Concert, Fête champêtre, 1509

- Jean-Antoine Watteau, The Embarkation for Cythera, 1717

12. Du Bos
Primary text:
a) Du Bos , Jean-Baptise . Critical Reflections on Poetry, Painting and Music , translated by
Thomas Nugent , 3 vols. London : John Nourse , 1748 .
Secondary literature (optional):
b) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on DuBos
Artworks to discuss:
- Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Le Brun, Marie Antoinette in a Court Dress, 1778

- Jean-François de Troy, The Declaration of Love, 1731

- Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour, 1748–55

13. Batteux
Primary text:
a) Batteux , Charles, A course of the belles lettres: or the principles of literature . Translated from
the French of the Abbot Batteux, by Mr. Miller. 4 vols. London : B. Law and Co . T. Caslon , J.
Coote , S. Hooper , G. Kearsly , and A. Morley , 1761 .
b) or Einschränkung der Schönen Künste auf einen einzigen Grundsatz, aus dem Französichen
übersetzt, und mit verschiedenen eignen damit verwandten Abhandlungen begleitet von Johann
Adolf Schlegel , third edition. Leipzig : Weidmanns Erben und Reich , 1770
Secondary literature (optional):
c) Guyer, P., 2014, A History of Modern Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Volume 1, Chapter on Batteux
Artworks to discuss:
- François Boucher, Triumph of Venus, 1740

- Jean-Honoré Fragonard, La Fête à Saint-Cloud, 1775-1780

- Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Meeting, 1771–72

 Part IV: Final Considerations

14. Kant: The great synthesis

Primary text:
a) Kant, Immanuel, Critique of the Power of Judgment, edited by Paul Guyer, translated by Paul
Guyer and Eric Matthews (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000)
Secondary literature (optional):
b) Allison, Henry E., 2001, Kant's Theory of Taste: A Reading of the ‘Critique of Judgment’,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Excerpts
c) Dickie, George, 1996, The Century of Taste: The Philosophical Odyssey of Taste in the
Eighteenth Century, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter on Kant
Artworks to discuss: