Schopenhauers pessimisme, de esthetische contemplatie en de waarde van de kunst | Amsterdam University Press Journals Online
2004
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte
  4. Volume 115, Issue 4
  5. Article
Volume 115 Number 4
  • ISSN: 0002-5275
  • E-ISSN: 2352-1244

Abstract

Abstract

According to Schopenhauer, the aesthetic contemplation of art temporarily offers some kind of redemption: art is valuable because of its liberating effect on the spectator’s will, i.e. his or her urges, strivings and desires. He also acknowledges that works of art have cognitive value, since they offer insight into timeless Platonic Ideas. I argue that Schopenhauer is right to acknowledge the cognitive value of art, but that his aesthetic Platonism is flawed and thus cannot offer a solid foundation for the envisaged redemption, let alone for human happiness. By confronting Schopenhauer’s aesthetic theory with some aspects of Kant’s, I aim to show that by disentangling Schopenhauer’s theory from Platonism and focusing on his psychology of aesthetic contemplation we can provide a more plausible view of aesthetic contemplation, which is compatible with Schopenhauerian pessimism as well as with the possibility of human happiness.

© Bart Vandenabeele
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2023.4.003.VAND
2023-11-01
2024-05-19
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Foster, C. (1999) Ideas and imagination: Schopenhauer on the proper foundation of art. In: C.Janaway (red.), The Cambridge Companion to Schopenhauer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 213-251.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Janaway, C. (1999) Schopenhauer’s pessimism. In: C.Janaway (red.) The Cambridge Companionto Schopenhauer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 318-343.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Kossler, M. (2012) The artist as subject of pure cognition. In: B.Vandenabeele (red.) A Companion to Schopenhauer. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 193-205.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Migotti, M. (2020) Schopenhauer’s pessimism in context. In: R.Wicks (red.) The Oxford Handbook of Schopenhauer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 284-298.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Reginster, B. (2006) The Affirmation of Life: Nietzsche on Overcoming Nihilism. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Schopenhauer, A. (1989) Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, Band I & II (Wolfgang Frhr.von Löhneysen, red.). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Schopenhauer, A. (1997) De wereld als wil en voorstelling, Vol. I & II (H.Driessen, vert). Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Scruton, R. (2009) Beauty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Vandenabeele, B. (2013) Beauty, disinterested pleasure, and pure contemplation: Schopenhauer’s response to Kant, Schopenhauer-Jahrbuch93, pp. 241-255.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Vandenabeele, B. (2021) Appreciating beauty and art: An introduction to aesthetics. In: M.Sie & B.Engelen (red.), Second Thoughts: First Introductions to Philosophy. Tilburg: Open Press TiU, pp. 120-135.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Vandenabeele, B. (2023) Artistic creativity and the ideal of beauty: The representation of human beauty in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of art. In: T.Stoll & D.Woods (red.) The Schopenhauerian Mind. London: Routledge, pp. 141-153.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. White, F.C. (2012) Schopenhauer and Platonic ideas. In: B.Vandenabeele (red.) A Companion to Schopenhauer. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 133-146.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Wittgenstein, L. (2007) Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology and Religious Belief. Malden: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2023.4.003.VAND
Loading
Keyword(s): aesthetic contemplation; art; Arthur Schopenhauer; beauty; disinterestedness; genius; Immanuel Kant; pessimism; Plato

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error