For Herbart, an aesthetic judgment is marked by the immediacy and involuntariness with which it is made. Such judgments are, in other words, independent of the personal preference of the subject, and are, in a sense, forced upon her. They are warranted by a peculiar, originary kind of evidence springing from the observation of the object (SW X: 318). They are clear, without having been learned or proved, and stand forth as absolute and non-negotiable claims (SW IV: 105; 47).  This absolute and self-evident character lets aesthetic judgments function as the principles of a science of aesthetics. 