Universality in Baumgarten's aesthetic

Baumgarten maintains that he introduces aesthetics as a science or a branch of philosophy. There is no doubt that being a science requires requirements such as distinction from other realms, enjoying particular legitimacy, having specific laws and principles and universal claims. In other words, to introduce aesthetic as a science he should first explains the unique characteristics of this discipline and its subordination to special rules; so that he could distinguish it from other branches and disciplines. Mentioning the fundamental principle of this branch is important because it causes the universality claim for its judgments. This study tries to deal with Baumgarten’s desire i.e. (establishment of aesthetics) and to answer the question that how he differentiates this new branch from other realm of philosophy and also how he attempts to justify and specify universality of the aesthetics judgments? Baumgarten succeeds in his above mentioned goals by exclusively relating aesthetic to perception and specifying the main feature of this perception i.e. “extensive clarity.” He aims at justifying the universality of aesthetic judgments by introducing aesthetic experience as some cognition-like experience and also introducing general principles. Unfortunately, appealing to general principles which are gained only through experience and general principles of psychology can not specify the universality of aesthetics judgments because the only result of these principles is some psychological and empirical generalization and not logical univers.