A Cipher of Morality in Nature. Kant on Interest in the Beautiful

Abstract This paper explores the moral import of Kant’s theory of the beautiful in relation to his systematic aim of bridging the gulf between nature and freedom. The aim is to preserve the importance of the beautiful – whether natural or artistic – while also accounting for Kant’s emphasis on the pre-eminence of natural beauty. Drawing on Kant’s distinction between intellectual and empirical interest in the beautiful, this paper argues that only natural beauty enables a transition to the supersensible both within the subject and externally . It concludes by examining whether intellectual interest in natural beauty might be regarded as a duty.