Autonomy and Community in Kant's Theory of Taste.

This article argues that Immanuel Kant's theory of aesthetic life, often read as individualist due to its emphasis on aesthetic autonomy and demands for agreement in judgments of taste, is in fact fundamentally communitarian. It contends that Kant's notion of autonomy requires membership in an aesthetic community where judgments of taste function as invitations for others to engage their own faculties toward shared aesthetic appreciation. The paper highlights Kant's concept of aesthetic common sense as a regulative principle that guides agents to seek unanimity in aesthetic judgment through dialogue and reflection within a community. Ultimately, Kant's aesthetic communitarianism differs from other models by centering universality and shared judgment rather than individual style, emphasizing that genuine autonomy and community are mutually dependent in the pursuit of aesthetic value.