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On the Arts: Selections from G.W.F. Hegel's Aesthetics or the Philosophy of Fine Art
HEGEL: ON THE ARTS (Selections from G.W.F. Hegel's AESTHETICS OR THE PHILOSOPHY OF FINE ART)
_______
(From jacket front flap of the 1979 edition)
HEGEL: ON THE ARTS is an introduction to the diverse world of artistic beauty, as presented by the most influential thinker of modern times.
Hegel (1770-1831) was the founder of modern systematic aesthetics. No other philosopher since Aristotle offered such profound insights into the nature of artistic beauty, and none since Hegel's time has matched him in showing architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature to be an organic progression, a total world, one shared with religion and philosophy.
Here is Hegel himself, comprehensively brief, and in his own words. His lectures on fine art have been pruned to their living core, and are expertly translated. These are the philosopher's basic ideas on the nature of artistic beauty and the system of the arts, fully representative of the best in Hegel.
The translator's extended introduction provides valuable background for the reader new to these stimulating ideas.
_______
Paolucci's (government and politics, St. John's U.) abridgement of the German philosopher's work was first published in 1979 as part of the Milestones of Thought series. It includes a 15-page introduction placing Hegel (1770-1831) in historical and intellectual context and Asthetik in the context of his overall work. It is not indexed.
_______
(From jacket front flap of the 1979 edition)
HEGEL: ON THE ARTS is an introduction to the diverse world of artistic beauty, as presented by the most influential thinker of modern times.
Hegel (1770-1831) was the founder of modern systematic aesthetics. No other philosopher since Aristotle offered such profound insights into the nature of artistic beauty, and none since Hegel's time has matched him in showing architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature to be an organic progression, a total world, one shared with religion and philosophy.
Here is Hegel himself, comprehensively brief, and in his own words. His lectures on fine art have been pruned to their living core, and are expertly translated. These are the philosopher's basic ideas on the nature of artistic beauty and the system of the arts, fully representative of the best in Hegel.
The translator's extended introduction provides valuable background for the reader new to these stimulating ideas.
_______
Paolucci's (government and politics, St. John's U.) abridgement of the German philosopher's work was first published in 1979 as part of the Milestones of Thought series. It includes a 15-page introduction placing Hegel (1770-1831) in historical and intellectual context and Asthetik in the context of his overall work. It is not indexed.
Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
200 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2001
About the author
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
2,201 books2,591 followersGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) was a German philosopher and one of the founding figures of German Idealism. Influenced by Kant's transcendental idealism and Rousseau's politics, Hegel formulated an elaborate system of historical development of ethics, government, and religion through the dialectical unfolding of the Absolute. Hegel was one of the most well-known historicist philosopher, and his thought presaged continental philosophy, including postmodernism. His system was inverted into a materialist ideology by Karl Marx, originally a member of the Young Hegelian faction.
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October 11, 2024
A USEFUL INTRODUCTION TO HEGEL’S AESTHETIC THEORIES
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) was a German Idealist philosopher, who was very influential on later Philosophy of History, Philosophy of Religion, and even Existentialism [e.g., Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'].
This book is an abridgement of Hegel’s 'Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art,' which was published posthumously in three volumes.
He observes, “in the classical art form, it is the content itself, as Idea, or spirit, that determines the shape that can adequately embody it. Now the shape with which spirit invests itself for expression as a temporal phenomenon appropriate to mind is and can be nothing less than the HUMAN FORM, which art has not to INVENT but merely to find and bring into perfect congruence with its informing idea. This is the correct approach to the notion that art has imitated the human form.” (Pg. 23-24)
He notes, “This limitation [in classical art] consists in the fact that spirit, which is infinite concrete universality in itself, cannot be presented according to its true concept in sensuously objective form. That true concept of spirit becomes the content of romantic art… To ACTUALIZE the unity of the divine and the human in itself, to actually KNOW what is only IMPLICIT and potential in the plastic beauty and individuality of the Greek gods, spirit must withdraw out of externality into itself; for the true medium in which the unity of divine and human nature is actualized must be, not the sensuously existent SHAPE of man as immediately perceived in its externality, but self-conscious inward intelligence.” (Pg. 37)
He asserts, “Art’s initial task is to prepare a suitable environment for the expression of spirit. In the sphere of the individual arts, architecture is our point of departure, for it is CONCEPTUALLY the beginning of art, even if it may or may not be its historical beginning. According to its concept… art’s first task consists in reshaping the external world as a suitable environment for the artistic expression of spirit, and the individual art to which that task clearly falls, conceptually, is architecture, the art of building, which in fact had its earliest development before sculpture or painting or music.” (Pg. 68)
He suggests that in modern architecture, “independent or symbolic architecture and serviceable or classical architecture are united. The unification is… in the fact that enclosure provides the fundamental characteristic to a greater extent than in the Greek temple, while, on the other hand, the ‘houses of God’ as actually built have a manifest independence that transcends any specific purpose: they stand there as perfect in themselves, fixed, and eternal. Their interiors do not have the box-like construction of our modern Protestant churches which consist of nothing but pews set up like stalls in a stable.” (Pg. 78)
He explains, “The transition from sculpture to the essentially romantic arts of painting, music, and poetry is made necessary… by the principle of subjectivity which at a certain moment forces its way not only into art’s mode of expression but also into its content… After architecture has built the temple, and after the solid shape of the god has been placed in it by the hand of sculpture, the next step is for this sensuously present god to be confronted, in his own house, by the COMMUNITY. The community is the reflection into itself of that physically present divinity.” (Pg. 103)
He states, “Yet art’s concern even in the spiritual depths of the romantic sphere remains the expression of the Ideal… what can be taken a strictly ideal… is the RECONCILIATION of the individual heart with God who in his human existence has traversed the very same way of sorrows. The only truly substantive ideal of inwardness… is the inwardness of RELIGION, the peace of the subject whose worldly heart has had to be broken so as to raise him above the natural existence into oneness with God. The soul wills, the soul wants ITSELF, in this experience; but it wants itself in another rather than in its own particularity. In God’s presence it therefore surrenders itself in order to find and enjoy itself in him.” (Pg. 105-106)
He notes, “If spiritual life is indeed to manifest itself in art as SUBJECTIVE inwardness, however, the material truly corresponding to it cannot be of a kind that PERSISTS in being what it is. What is needed is a material that is inherently unstable, the sensory externality of which begins to vanish at the very moment of its coming into being. This cancelling of spatiality … is made actual in the second romantic art---music… music is thus the extreme opposite of architecture which builds its environment for the expression of spirit to endure… The sounds with which music builds its world, on the contrary, rush through our sensory hearing to produce their impressions directly in the depths of the emotional life of the soul. And yet, as extremes, the two arts meet… In musical composition there is indeed a tendency for depth of feeling and mathematical regularity of construction to develop independently; and when that occurs the result is often what may… be called a TEMPLE of harmony and rhythm.” (Pg. 126-127)
The book concludes with the statement, “what art in general aims at is the identity, produced by mind or spirit, in which the eternal and the divine, the substantively true, is revealed in real appearance to our external perception, to our feelings and imagination… The absolute… no longer appears in positive union with the characters and aims of real existence, but asserts itself only in the negative form of cancelling everything that doesn’t correspond to it; and only subjectivity as such, in and along with this dissolution, displays itself as self-confident and self-secure.” (Pg. 199)
This book is an “briefer” presentation of Hegel’s ideas about the arts, and the selections included are carefully selected. It will be of great interest for anyone studying Hegel’s philosophy.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) was a German Idealist philosopher, who was very influential on later Philosophy of History, Philosophy of Religion, and even Existentialism [e.g., Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'].
This book is an abridgement of Hegel’s 'Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art,' which was published posthumously in three volumes.
He observes, “in the classical art form, it is the content itself, as Idea, or spirit, that determines the shape that can adequately embody it. Now the shape with which spirit invests itself for expression as a temporal phenomenon appropriate to mind is and can be nothing less than the HUMAN FORM, which art has not to INVENT but merely to find and bring into perfect congruence with its informing idea. This is the correct approach to the notion that art has imitated the human form.” (Pg. 23-24)
He notes, “This limitation [in classical art] consists in the fact that spirit, which is infinite concrete universality in itself, cannot be presented according to its true concept in sensuously objective form. That true concept of spirit becomes the content of romantic art… To ACTUALIZE the unity of the divine and the human in itself, to actually KNOW what is only IMPLICIT and potential in the plastic beauty and individuality of the Greek gods, spirit must withdraw out of externality into itself; for the true medium in which the unity of divine and human nature is actualized must be, not the sensuously existent SHAPE of man as immediately perceived in its externality, but self-conscious inward intelligence.” (Pg. 37)
He asserts, “Art’s initial task is to prepare a suitable environment for the expression of spirit. In the sphere of the individual arts, architecture is our point of departure, for it is CONCEPTUALLY the beginning of art, even if it may or may not be its historical beginning. According to its concept… art’s first task consists in reshaping the external world as a suitable environment for the artistic expression of spirit, and the individual art to which that task clearly falls, conceptually, is architecture, the art of building, which in fact had its earliest development before sculpture or painting or music.” (Pg. 68)
He suggests that in modern architecture, “independent or symbolic architecture and serviceable or classical architecture are united. The unification is… in the fact that enclosure provides the fundamental characteristic to a greater extent than in the Greek temple, while, on the other hand, the ‘houses of God’ as actually built have a manifest independence that transcends any specific purpose: they stand there as perfect in themselves, fixed, and eternal. Their interiors do not have the box-like construction of our modern Protestant churches which consist of nothing but pews set up like stalls in a stable.” (Pg. 78)
He explains, “The transition from sculpture to the essentially romantic arts of painting, music, and poetry is made necessary… by the principle of subjectivity which at a certain moment forces its way not only into art’s mode of expression but also into its content… After architecture has built the temple, and after the solid shape of the god has been placed in it by the hand of sculpture, the next step is for this sensuously present god to be confronted, in his own house, by the COMMUNITY. The community is the reflection into itself of that physically present divinity.” (Pg. 103)
He states, “Yet art’s concern even in the spiritual depths of the romantic sphere remains the expression of the Ideal… what can be taken a strictly ideal… is the RECONCILIATION of the individual heart with God who in his human existence has traversed the very same way of sorrows. The only truly substantive ideal of inwardness… is the inwardness of RELIGION, the peace of the subject whose worldly heart has had to be broken so as to raise him above the natural existence into oneness with God. The soul wills, the soul wants ITSELF, in this experience; but it wants itself in another rather than in its own particularity. In God’s presence it therefore surrenders itself in order to find and enjoy itself in him.” (Pg. 105-106)
He notes, “If spiritual life is indeed to manifest itself in art as SUBJECTIVE inwardness, however, the material truly corresponding to it cannot be of a kind that PERSISTS in being what it is. What is needed is a material that is inherently unstable, the sensory externality of which begins to vanish at the very moment of its coming into being. This cancelling of spatiality … is made actual in the second romantic art---music… music is thus the extreme opposite of architecture which builds its environment for the expression of spirit to endure… The sounds with which music builds its world, on the contrary, rush through our sensory hearing to produce their impressions directly in the depths of the emotional life of the soul. And yet, as extremes, the two arts meet… In musical composition there is indeed a tendency for depth of feeling and mathematical regularity of construction to develop independently; and when that occurs the result is often what may… be called a TEMPLE of harmony and rhythm.” (Pg. 126-127)
The book concludes with the statement, “what art in general aims at is the identity, produced by mind or spirit, in which the eternal and the divine, the substantively true, is revealed in real appearance to our external perception, to our feelings and imagination… The absolute… no longer appears in positive union with the characters and aims of real existence, but asserts itself only in the negative form of cancelling everything that doesn’t correspond to it; and only subjectivity as such, in and along with this dissolution, displays itself as self-confident and self-secure.” (Pg. 199)
This book is an “briefer” presentation of Hegel’s ideas about the arts, and the selections included are carefully selected. It will be of great interest for anyone studying Hegel’s philosophy.
June 3, 2021
As I did not actually read this edition of Hegel's thoughts on Art, but rather "The Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Reading" version (translated by William Hastie and with an introduction by Christa Davis Acompora), I feel as if I am subjecting the reader of this review to an 'inauthentic' experience; however, the ideas in both editions are identical so I guess I will just split the difference and plow ahead anyway.
The edition I read was split into two segments: Part I, "Hegel's Introduction to the Philosophy of Art as the Science of Aesthetics"; Part II, "Michelet's Philosophy of Art as the Science of Aesthetics." I found the first segment to consist of some of the most profound meditations on Art that I have had the pleasure to read. For found here are the majority of Hegel's ideas on Art, couched in prose that is easy to understand and which conveys the substance of Hegel's thought with clarity and succinctness. Moreover, the valorization of Art, and particularity of Poetry, found here is a welcome respite from the degradation of the value and place of the fine arts found in much modern and post-modern thought. It becomes a thrill to see Art assume such a prominent position in the realm of human endeavors; additionally, the linking of the 'Absolute" (God/Spirit) to the project of the Arts too is redeeming/eye-opening. The second segment of 'my' edition, the Michelet meditations, though consisting of reflections on Hegel's thought, along with relevant quotes from the master, is less enlightening, for it is ultimately derivative and less enthralling than the segment of Hegel's own words/ideas.
However, the book is to be recommended for its clarity and profundity, as it is a wonderful introduction to a strong thinker's meditations on an essential topic.
The edition I read was split into two segments: Part I, "Hegel's Introduction to the Philosophy of Art as the Science of Aesthetics"; Part II, "Michelet's Philosophy of Art as the Science of Aesthetics." I found the first segment to consist of some of the most profound meditations on Art that I have had the pleasure to read. For found here are the majority of Hegel's ideas on Art, couched in prose that is easy to understand and which conveys the substance of Hegel's thought with clarity and succinctness. Moreover, the valorization of Art, and particularity of Poetry, found here is a welcome respite from the degradation of the value and place of the fine arts found in much modern and post-modern thought. It becomes a thrill to see Art assume such a prominent position in the realm of human endeavors; additionally, the linking of the 'Absolute" (God/Spirit) to the project of the Arts too is redeeming/eye-opening. The second segment of 'my' edition, the Michelet meditations, though consisting of reflections on Hegel's thought, along with relevant quotes from the master, is less enlightening, for it is ultimately derivative and less enthralling than the segment of Hegel's own words/ideas.
However, the book is to be recommended for its clarity and profundity, as it is a wonderful introduction to a strong thinker's meditations on an essential topic.
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