Kant argues that "there can be no rule by which someone could be compelled to acknowledge that something is beautiful. No one can use reasons or principles to talk us into a judgment on whether some garment, house, or flower is beautiful." What does it mean to say something is beautiful? Even though it appears to be a simple question it becomes apparent that this is a very complicated question and one of vital importance if we truly wish to understand if someone could be compelled to acknowledge that something is beautiful. Kant in his Critique of Judgment gives a considerable amount of thought to the components of aesthetic judgment. Kant puts forth the theory that aesthetic judgments are purely a subjective experience. In other words, when we judge something to be beautiful, the judgment is entirely internal, within the observer, and does not involve the actual object being judged. This paper will explore first what Kant considers a pure aesthetic judgment. Second, I will explain and discuss what Kant believes comprises a pure aesthetic judgment. Finally, I will explain and discuss whether or not someone can use a rule, reasons, principles to talk somebody into a judgment of whether something is beautiful.
             First, what is an example of a pure aesthetic judgment? If one says that one likes an object, or an object is agreeable to them, they are not making a pure aesthetic judgment. What makes an object agreeable is really a part of sense perception. For example, if someone likes a particular food, it is because the senses react favorably to the sensations that the object (the food) arises in the subject. Therefore, we are "interested" in the object itself, which therefore makes it, at least partially, an objective judgment. "Now, that a judgment by which I declare an object to be agreeable expresses an interest in that object is already obvious from the fact that, by means of sensation, the judg...