Claims about the beauty of theories and explanations are often inspired by the Platonic vision that
beauty will lead us to truth. By contrast, Kant’s aesthetics is commonly regarded as providing the
most influential critique of this vision. In this paper I show that this popular contrast is mistaken in
important respects. By examining Kant’s views in comparison with those of his immediate
contemporaries, A. G. Baumgarten and G. F. Meier, I show that the Kantian position offers an
important contender to the Platonic ideal, namely, a conception of the beauty of science that is
independent of the science of beauty.I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Leverhulme Trust and CRASSH,
Cambridge for funding my research.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Johns Hopkins University Press
