Projection and Identification in the Artistic Perception

Since the time of the formal discovery of aesthetics (1) by Baumgarten much has been said about the nature of art; many theories have been advanced, but the problems of what art is remained an object of further dispute. The old saying De gustibus non est disputandum retained its applicability and stimulates further the diversity of views. With the advancement of psychology a new aesthetical approach crystalized itself — what exists is only man's opinion. The originator of this view was Herbart. His were the opinions concerning art which contributed to the establishment of a trend, known in the literary scholarship as psychologism. It would be, of course, a mistake to ascribe to Herbart the sole origin of such ideas. Kant spoke much earlier about the subjective judging capacity (Urteilskraft) which forms judgments without reasoning, and produces pleasure without desire (Urtheil ohne Begriff und Vergnugen ohne Begehren). (2)

In its rapid development psychologism split into a variety of schools, each claiming the infallibility of its assertions and research. The youngest and the most pretentious among them was that of Freud, who himself proved to be