Heaven on Earth. On systematicity and aesthetic pleasure

Abstract

In addition to its intense and innovative cosmological dialogue with predecessors, Kant’s Theory of the Heavens (1755) and its systematising goal tell us something more about the young Kant’s thoughts concerning humanity and the world. We intend 1) to show how Kant’s approach to the question of the order of the universe fi nds a middle path between the extremes of theology and naturalism; b) to show how purposiveness [<em>Zweckmäβigkeit</em>] exemplifies this middle path, and how this progressive resistance is a theoretical device to which Kant would frequently resort; c) to examine the extent to which the discernment of purposiveness and its theoretical order are felt by us as a singular aesthetic pleasure.