Oliver's Article

Oliver's Article

Amy A. Oliver

Context and Kant in the Aesthetics of José Enrique Rodó and Samuel Ramos

In the classic essays Ariel (1900) and Filosofîa de la vida artîstica (1950) the Uruguayan José Enrique Rodó (1872-1917) and the Mexican Samuel Ramos (1897-1959) present distinctive and divergent claims about aesthetics. While Rodó asserts the existence of an innate and abundant aesthetic sensibility among Latin Americans, Ramos believes that aesthetic experience is relatively rare and that aesthetic sensibility needs to be cultivated. While historical grounding in the Latin American context is missing in the works of both Rodó and Ramos, Ariel contains an argument for an innate Latin American aesthetic sensibility linked to high moral development along with the hope that Latin American’s youth will use their aesthetic and moral gifts to advance Latin American’s place in the 20th century. In Filosophîa de la vida artîstica, Ramos argues that the aesthetic experience in Mexico is far from innate or even widespread: on the contrary, it is rare and much in need of further development. Kant, referenced both by Rodó and Ramos, in his Critique of Judgment, argues against a relationship between aesthetic sensibility and moral capacity. Rodó, then, is at odds with Kant while Ramos’s view is closer to Kant’s.

Volume 18, Issue 1, Spring 2014

65-76