Johann Gottfried Herder’s Contribution to the Foundations of Aesthetics

Abstract

This paper examines Herder’s contribution to grounding aesthetics as a philosophical discipline, focusing on his early writings. By seeking to extend the horizon of aesthetics toward anthropology, psychology, and a philosophy of language –through a theory of expression grounded in human sensibility and creativity, and thus a problematization of the discipline in which literature and poetry occupy a central place– the paper analyses Herder’s dialogue with Baumgarten, Winckelmann, and Lessing. In engaging with these major figures, Herder reconfigures the role of aesthetic theory (Baumgarten), orienting it toward the history of art (Winckelmann) and art criticism (Lessing). Finally, the paper highlights how the incorporation of other disciplines into aesthetics aims to move beyond the sphere of formal and reflective discussion, setting aside its abstract and metaphysical role and opening a space for poetic production and creation itself.