Sinnesstämning, skratt och hypokondri : Om estetisk erfarenhet i Kants tredje Kritik

Sammanfattning: This thesis considers Immanuel Kant’s notion of sensibility in the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790) and Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View (1798). It directs attention to sensibility’s function in Kant’s conceptualisation of aesthetic experience and thereby shows how the central role of sensibility in the third Critique contributes to a deeper understanding of aesthetic experience. This is done through a close reading of two philosophical key terms – Gemüt and Stimmung – and two specific phenomena – laughter (Witz) and hypochondria – carried out in conversation with three works of art: Max Neuhaus’ public sound piece Times Square (1977), Sarah Lucas’ installation Au Naturel (1994) and Nazlı Dinçel’s film work Leafless (2011). Taking departure from the framework offered by Kant’s critical philosophy and his anthropological writings, I argue that the analyzed concepts and phenomena on the one hand call on the importance of sensibility in Kant’s aesthetics, and on the other show that we still need Kant to grasp present questions and central motives in contemporary art.