Abstract:

Viewing an object as a whole is one of the characteristics of aesthetic appreciation. Aesthetic appreciation is not initiated by the induction of the parts, but by the intuition of the whole, which directly captures the “spirit/atmosphere” of the object. Viewing an object as a whole is the result of apperception. It is realized through the sensory comprehension of imagination and the intellectual comprehension of reason, while aesthetic comprehension exists at the intersection of sensory comprehension and intellectual comprehension. By aesthetic comprehension, it becomes possible to “view the atmosphere first”, and to acquire a “generalized feeling” and “meaning”. The mechanism of aesthetic comprehension is as follows: guided by an“aesthetic idea”, imagination comprehends the sensory manifold as a perceptible yet infinite “ideal-image” at once. This explains the experience of “viewing the atmosphere first”, viewing the whole from a distance, and “words have their limits, yet meaning transcends all bounds”, revealing a universality of the beautiful that can be communicated without a concept. The existence of aesthetic comprehension explains the uniqueness of aesthetics as a mode of cognition: aesthetics is comprehensive, while taste is analytical. Through its cognitive mechanisms, aesthetic comprehension ensures the autonomy of aesthetic appreciation.

Key words: aesthetic appreciation, apperception, comprehension, aesthetic comprehension