The Beautiful in Relating Theory and Practice: A Study on Plato and Kant
Abstract
Introduction
The article aims to try to see the critical role of the beautiful in the transition from the theoretical to the practical on two different grounds: one metaphysical and the other based on a critique of metaphysics. The importance of considering the beautiful through Plato and Kant is that it enables us to see how the function of the beautiful is perceived within a metaphysical and non-metaphysical framework and the position of the beautiful, and by taking beauty as a focal point, it enables us to try to understand how Plato and Kant relate theory and practice and what kind of function this relationship plays in their philosophical systems.
A. Kant and Plato in the Context of Metaphysics and Episteme
1. Kant’s Critique of Metaphysics
Kant tries to construct metaphysics as a science by criticising Platonic metaphysics in particular and metaphysics shaped by its influence in general. Within metaphysics, which is constructed as science, all possible theoretical knowledge of reason is limited to objects of experience (Kant, 2000, p. 163). From Kant’s point of view, it is impossible to directly encounter objects that have no sensible counterpart and are beyond experience, as in Plato’s philosophy. The intellectual intuition, which Plato and his followers defend in the metaphysical tradition, is rejected by Kant. Thus, in Kant’s system, knowledge can only be attained through intuition and concepts, thereby setting the boundaries of experience. Plato, who is at the focal point of Kant’s metaphysical criticisms, presents an understanding of knowledge and being that is the exact opposite of this framework and is built on a purely metaphysical basis.
2. The Activity of Episteme from Plato’s Perspective
Plato states that episteme about the object is related to eidos, while dianoia, that is, the activity of reasoning, is incomplete. Plato states that the object of any activity other than noesis in the divided line he deals with in The Republic is not real and that it is not possible to speak of episteme in the full sense outside of this activity. In this respect, episteme is only possible in terms of noesis. However, Kant rejects this kind of knowledge activity because he limits the scope of knowledge to experience. At this point, it should be noted that the ultimate aim of Kant’s limitation in the theoretical field is to provide an expansion to the practical field. In this context, the beautiful plays a key role in enabling this expansion.
B. The Beautiful in Theory
1. The Beautiful in the Context of Episteme and Art
Under the influence of the idea of eidos, Plato thinks and explains the beautiful outside the sensory world and in relation to eidos. The fact the beautiful can be attributed to any object shows that it has a share of auto to kalon, that is, the beautiful itself (Plato, 2015a, par. 100c). Plato makes individual beautiful things the subject of doxa and the beautiful itself the subject of episteme. This idea is part of Plato’s conception of being and knowledge, where the realm of being is the domain of eidos in the true sense, and, accordingly, true knowledge is related to eide. In addition to this ontology and epistemology context, when it comes to art, Plato deals with the beautiful in terms of imitation and representation, that is, mimesis.
2. The Beautiful as Part of the Critical Project
With Kant, who is seen as the founder of modern aesthetics, the beautiful became the subject of research beyond the empirical, and as a natural consequence of his critique of metaphysics, it was treated not as the beautiful itself but as an integral element of his critical project. Within Kant’s critical project, which limits the possibilities of knowledge by drawing the boundaries of theoretical reason and essentially aims to expand the sphere of practical reason, the beautiful is addressed in the context of judgment, as in the other two Critiques, and is associated with a judgment of taste that is independent of any interest or utility.
Keywords
Teorik ve Pratiğin İlişkilendirilmesinde Güzel: Platon ve Kant Üzerine Bir İnceleme
Abstract
Makale, güzelin teorik olandan pratik olana geçişteki asli rolünü Platon ve Kant’ın felsefeleri çerçevesinde incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Güzel Platon’da noesis faaliyeti üzerinden metafizik sistem içerisinde konumlandırılır. Güzel hem hakikate (aletheia) ulaşmayı sağlaması açısından epistemolojinin, hem de iyiye (agathon) erişmeyi mümkün kılması açısından ahlakın zemininde yer alır. Platon düşüncesinde güzel metafiziksel bir temel üzerinde inşa edilen, teorik ve pratiği birlikte düşünebilmenin ve ikisi arasında bağ kurabilmenin asli bir unsuru olarak karşımıza çıkar. Kant ise güzeli Platoncu metafiziği sınırlandırma çabası çerçevesinde yeniden ele almış ve onu kendinde güzel anlayışından soyutlayarak çıkar ve faydadan bağımsız bir beğeni yargısıyla ilişkilendirmiştir. Yargı Yetisinin Eleştirisi’nde güzel, teorik akıl ile pratik akıl arasında bir bağ kurarak, estetik deneyim yoluyla ahlaki iyinin duyusal dünyada temsil edilmesini sağlar. Böylece Kant’ın felsefi sistemi içerisinde güzel, Saf Aklın Eleştirisi ve Pratik Aklın Eleştirisi arasında bir köprü işlevi görür ve metafiziğe sınır çizen bir yapı içinde teorik olandan pratiğe geçiş imkânı sunar. Makalenin temel amacı, iki filozof arasında mutlak bir kıyaslama yapmaktan ziyade, teorik olandan pratik olana geçişi mümkün kılması bağlamında güzelin biri metafiziksel diğeri metafizik eleştirisine dayalı iki farklı düşünce zemini üzerinde nasıl ele alındığını göstermek ve güzeli odak noktası alarak Platon ve Kant’ın teorik olanla ile pratik olanı nasıl ilişkilendirdiğini ve bu ilişkinin felsefi sistemlerinde ne tür bir işlev gördüğünü anlamaya çalışmaktır.
Keywords
