Disinterested Interest

Disinterested Interest 

Other Readings: Roger Scruton/Beauty

October 12, 2015

One of the most intriguing parts of Immanuel Kant’s aesthetic theory is the concept of disinterested interest. Kant begins by distinguishing between interest and disinterest. Humans, he says, take on an interested attitude towards something when it serves as a means to their end. Interested objects are instruments designed at achieving some sort of aim or end goal. Our interaction with such objects is driven by appetites, needs, and desires. However, there is a second type of interest that treats objects as ends in themselves. Our interest toward such objects is wholly devoted to the object itself, not the objects purpose. This, Kant calls disinterested interest. We express such interest when we spend time with a close friend. We do not treat time spent with a loved one as a fulfillment of any desire or satisfaction of any goal since the interest is fully placed in the person to whom you stand in relation to. In moments of disinterested interest, no substitute for the object or person that holds our complete admiration will do. You cannot substitute a stranger for your friend. Only the specific object toward which our full attention is geared will do. Disinterested interest is a pure judgement of beauty that is not interested in the use or practicality of an object. Such interest takes on a curious attitude toward it’s object, attempting to understand, value, and delight in the object.