Descartes on the Perception of Aesthetic Properties

Title: Descartes on the Perception of Aesthetic Properties

By Domenica Romagni (Colorado State University, Philosophy)

Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026

Time: 1530-1700

Room: Humanities Seminar Room (H-232)

Abstract: One topic in Descartes’ work that has remained relatively underexplored is his views on aesthetics. This is unsurprising, given that he seemingly dedicates little sustained discussion to what we would consider ‘aesthetics’ today, aside from his early Compendium Musicae. However, as I hope to show in this paper, Descartes dedicates a considerable amount of discussion of ‘aesthetic’ topics across his career. Consideration of his remarks in this capacity not only bring out an underappreciated aspect of Descartes’ work, but also helps to shed light on broader questions in Cartesian scholarship, and in early modern scholarship more generally.

In the paper, I discuss how Descartes addresses aesthetic pleasure in his writings on sensory perception and the passions. In considering his views on sensory perception, I focus on auditory perception of musical properties and highlight how Descartes recognizes a hierarchy of levels of aesthetic perception in this domain. I will argue that these levels interact with respect to their agreeability/disagreeability or, as I will characterize it, their ‘valence’. The first level deals with simple auditory perceptions and is characterized by a primitive positive valence. This is caused by and covaries with the regular correspondence of motions that make up the stimulus. Building on this, Descartes recognizes what he calls ‘agreeability’ or ‘consonance’, which is determined by how the stimulus ranks on a scale of simplicity to complexity and how it interacts with a person’s history and preferences. It is in this context that Descartes delivers his primary basic aesthetic principle according to which humans prefer sensory experiences that challenge the perceiver but do not excessively tax their capacities. Following this, I turn to the way these sensory levels interact with the passions and show how aesthetic agreeability or consonance sparks joy in the subject (and how its contrary, dissonance, sparks sadness). Finally, I address how these passionate responses to sensory aesthetic experiences relate to what Descartes calls ‘intellectual emotions.’ It at this level that Descartes discusses our most fully fleshed aesthetic experiences with art objects and offers a solution to the paradox of negatively moving art.

Understanding how Descartes addresses aesthetic pleasure at each of these levels is significant for several reasons. First, it shows that he recognizes a variety of aesthetic experiences, from the basic pleasure afforded by a simple sensation to the nuanced pleasure we take in a complex art object like a tragedy. Moreover, it is important because understanding his views on aesthetic pleasure can shed light on more general issues for Descartes. For instance, his discussion of sensory aesthetic pleasure is related to his broader account of sensory perception and its biofunctional role. Similarly, his understanding of passionate responses to aesthetic properties in sensation can help us to better see how sensations and passions relate to one another. And, as Descartes is clear that ‘intellectual emotions’ are tied to combatting harmful passions and cultivating the well-being of the subject, their role in aesthetic appreciation is related to his broader ethical views. Finally, this discussion of Descartes’ views on aesthetic pleasure contributes to our understanding of pre-Baumgartian, and specifically early modern, treatments of art and beauty.

About the speaker: Domenica Romagni is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. She earned her PhD at Princeton University and specializes in Early Modern philosophy, philosophy of music and aesthetics, and the history and philosophy of science, with additional interests in philosophy of mind. Her research focuses on philosophy of mind and perception in the 17th century, explanatory virtues and scientific theory-building in the Early Modern period, and musical perception. Dr. Romagni received a BA with a concentration in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University and a BM in cello performance from the Peabody Conservatory. Prior to her return to philosophy, she taught cello and worked as a freelance musician.

Organized by the Department of Philosophy