Western Aesthetics in the realm of Kantian Philosophy

Quick Rundown

May 8th – 11 Questions (PLATE # 4 soon)

May 15 – 5 Metaphysical Projects of Western Architecture

May 22 – PLATE # 1 (A Question of Aggragation)

May 29 – Architectural Determinism

June 5 – Kantian Philosophy (British Aesthetics)

- PLATE # 2 (Concept vs. Experience)

Immanuel Kant (Kantianism)

Kantianism’s basic principles

• Causality

• Deontological ethics

• “Ultimate Good”

• Categorical Imperative

Causality

• Cause and effect

Deontological Ethics

• Every actions came from a principle.

• Morality of an action was based on rules.

Ultimate good

• Kant’s belief that all people are fundamentally rational beings

• Based on motive of duty – we shouldn't act out of compassion

• Morality is prescriptive – ‘ought’ implies ‘can’

“The only good thing is the good will” – I.Kant

Categorical Imperative

• Kant argues that categorical imperative is the only way to act.

• To act for the sake of duty only.(For example, one should help an old lady to cross the road simply because it is a good thing to do, not because it will make you feel good.)

Act only according to that maxim whereby youcan, at the same time, will that it should becomea universal law.

A categorical imperative is a command which is absolute and unconditional; it must be obeyed for its own sake.

Influence of Kant to British Aesthetics?

Kant’s influence to architecture

Kant is responsible for the notion that architectureshould express ideas, and also for competing views onwhat ideas it should express (Guyer, 2011).

SOURCE: Paul Guyer

Architects tend to steer well clear of philosophy. And well they might;• It’s difficult to get your head around it.• It’s not sexy.• When you think of Philosophy, you don’t think

Money or Art.• It’s too much trouble.

– Why care about philosophy when entire architectural movements can be built on one or two misappropriations from literature or the World of Art?

– Why even go that far when you can have a healthy cashflow on the basis of statements no more profound than “I like curves”?

SOURCE: misfits architecture

PLURALISM

• Tolerant but indifferent.

What makes this situation even moreunfortunate is that, in the great chain of contentprovision, we can’t trust the media or architectsto give us coherent, or even honest reasons whybuildings are the way they are.

We’re on our own, mostly in the dark, and needan autonomous basis for judging good vs. bad,truth vs. lies and fact vs. hype.

Misfits architecture

Existentialist Architecture

Three of Existentialism‘s central ideas are all we need;

1. Existence is more important than Essence

2. Facticity

3. Authenticity

Søren Kierkegaard is considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher.

Existentialist Architecture

Three of Existentialism‘s central ideas are all we need;

1. Existence is more important than Essence

2. Facticity

3. Authenticity

Søren Kierkegaard is considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher.

Existence is more important than Essence

• A building should be what it is rather than how it might appear to others.

• This denounces architectural pretensions of all sorts. It may even denounce all of what’s commonly thought of as architecture.

This denounces all buildings whose appearance contradicts their internal configuration,

Quinlan Terry Bldg

Some Gehry’s work

all buildings whose structure is not what it appears,

Security Marine Bank

all buildings that present an idealised image to the world,

all yet-to-be-built buildings with images at odds with reality, and

Zaha Hadid’s Bee’Ah HQ, UAE

all yet-to-be-built buildings with images at odds with reality, and

all buildings that first enter our consciousness as vehicles for publicity

Zaha Hadid’s Bee’Ah HQ, UAE

Afterword by misfits

One innovation here is applying the same requirement of existence over essence to images of buildings yet to be built.

This should hopefully check the current imbalancebetween the design of a building (existence) and the marketing of a building and/or its designers (essence).

PLATE # 2

• Decide what “tools” you’re gonna use (Concept or Pheno | Top Down or Bottom Up)

• Concept = diagram iso

• Pheno = perspective or plan

• Complete the drawing in detail

• Explain the result (SM Mall in the year 2027, or 2037, or 2047)

• We’ll use Kantian or Kierkegaard's principles as parameters of evaluation.