In this article I consider the Kantian preference for natural beauty from a socio-political point of view. Instead of only regarding the “intellectual” significance of beauty in nature as a symbol of morality, I show that the aesthetic appreciation of natural beauty must also be understood in its dialectical relation to society as “the place of antagonism.” By highlighting this dialectical understanding, I point out the socio-political contribution of aesthetic experience for the cultural progress of humanity. The fragility of beauty in the context of culture can be further interpreted as a symbol of the temporality of the project of perpetual peace in politics.

The following paper is not a literal exegesis of Hegel's æsthetics, but rather the attempt to encounter his æsthetics from a philosophical perspective which considers the æsthetic experience as intuition of finitude. From this perspective our purpose is to indicate the contemporary philosophical relevance of Hegel's æsthetics by underscoring some elements of it which can help us to rethink the relation between æsthetic experience and the subject in his interaction with his world. The question of this essay is: how can æsthetic experience be a substantial experience for the modern subject?