Kant on the Concept of Witz

• Published in: Estetika (Praha) Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 163 - 182
• Main Author: Silva, Fernando M. F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Filozofická fakulta, Vydavatelství 01.01.2020; Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Arts Press; Helsinki University Press
• Subjects: kant; poetry; power of judgement; Social Sciences; witz; Witz; power of judgement; Kant; poetry
• ISSN: 0014-1291; 2571-0915; 2571-0915
• DOI: 10.33134/eeja.221

The central aim of this essay is to portray Kant’s notion of Witz as it unfolds from his Lectures on Anthropology, in a decisive stage of his intellectual evolution (1772–96). This aim is sub-divided into two parallel objectives: first, to sketch a brief history of the concept of Witz, thus showing how Witz came to evolve from having a rational connotation to having an imaginative connotation, and how it came to be a pregnant philosophical issue, as well as an aesthetic principle. Secondly, to show how Kant read that singular course in the evolution of Witz; how, in his view, Witz and the power of judgement, imagination, and intellect are indeed opposed, but also how there is a necessity to unite both opposing parts; a convergence which is not only advantageous for both parts, but serves a greater purpose: to create an unsuspected link between imagination and understanding, as well as between philosophy and poetry.