Appearance and similarity as aesthetic categories

From the point of view of the opposition between the real and the virtual, Aesthetics can be understood as a philosophical research about nature, truth and reality of that what we call aesthetic, which very often is presented as something being representing or virtual. As way to explore this thesis, this paper proposes a comparison between two conceptions of beauty: Hegel and Krause. Both proposals appeal respective to the categories of appearance (Schein) and similarity (Ahnlichkeit) as keys for the final metaphysical foundation of the idea of beauty. The comparison of common and divergencing aspects can illuminate an important chapter of the Aesthetics by the German Idealism, that is the foundation of the idea of beauty. Therefore, it could contribute to illustrate and to open ways for the reflection about the general problem of the nature of the aesthetic dimension.