Kant, beauty is the symbol of what is morally good. In order to justify his view, Kant appeals to several parallels between morality and aesthetics, i.e. between what is perceived as beautiful and what is moral. The first similarity he identifies consists of the reaction beauty and morals trigger, i.e. one of pleasure. Secondly, he argues that this reaction of pleasure is independent of any exterior influence manifested as interest as the pleasure generated from what is morally good is bound to interest but this bond does not precede what he refers to as "delight." Thirdly, he argues that when perceiving beauty we use our imagination, a process similar to understanding the reasons why we abide by a certain law. Nevertheless, he claims that when choosing to confirm to a specific law, we need to take into consideration that our freedom of the will does not disregard the laws of reason. Last but not least, the criteria which we use to evaluate beauty are as universal as those of morality. Nonetheless, the principles of beauty are subjective whereas those of morals are objective and can be applied to all individuals. To further support his theory, Kant puts forward the example of objects being positively valued and assessed using words and analogies which seem to have moral origins in the sense that they belong to the perimeter of morality, and not beauty. On the other hand, the empirical evaluation of things which is employed in the case of aesthetics is not employed in the case of judgment that is not subjected to the laws of experience. Aesthetics are evaluated through subjective means and generate pleasure or its opposite, whereas morals can only be judged objectively as they apply to everyone. Aesthetics is conceived as an analysis of the faculty that is destined to the assessment of the feeling of pleasure and results from the harmony between intellect and imagination related to a particular object. Kant argues that this judgment of beauty does not bring anything new to the realm of knowledge, and only belongs to the subject who puts forward the judgment, judgment itself being a bridge between intellect and reason.
Marx Hegel German philosopher Hegel developed a philosophy that can be called phenomenology, or Philosophy and the Actual World. Whereas previous philosophers concerned themselves with abstractions, Hegel wanted to apply philosophical inquiry to the world that we can know directly. Hegel appears to be more concerned with effects than with causes. However, Hegel is a philosopher and as such he is eminently concerned with reason. Like the ancient Greeks, Hegel appreciated the
(Leaves, 680) Similarly Whitman informs us: Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun…there are millions of suns left, You shall no longer take things at second or third hand…nor look through the eyes of the dead…nor feed on the specters in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me.
This work provided an intensive discussion historical forces that were to lead to modern humanism but also succeeds in placing these aspects into the context of the larger social, historical and political milieu. . Online sources and databases proved to be a valid and often insightful recourse area for this topic. Of particular note is a concise and well-written article by Stephen Weldon entitled Secular Humanism in the United States.