Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T14:29:39.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Concerning Aesthetic Education

from Major Writings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2017

Lesley Sharpe
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Dieter Borchmeyer
Affiliation:
Professor of German at the University of Heidelberg
Otto Dann
Affiliation:
Professor of History at the University of Cologne, Germany
Karl S. Guthke
Affiliation:
Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University.
Walter Hinderer
Affiliation:
Professor of German at Princeton University, USA
Rolf-Peter Janz
Affiliation:
Professor of German, Free University of Berlin, Germany
Wulf Koepke
Affiliation:
Retired Distinguished Professor of German, Texas A and M University.
Norbert Oellers
Affiliation:
Professor of German, The University of Bonn, GermanyEditor of the Schiller Nationalausgabe
David V. Pugh
Affiliation:
Professor of German at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Lesley Sharpe
Affiliation:
Professor of German, The University of Exeter, England
Werner von Stransky-Stranka-Greifenfels
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of German, Militarhogskolan Karlberg, Stockholm, Sweden
James M. van der Laan
Affiliation:
Professor of German at Illinois State University, USA
Steven D. Martinson
Affiliation:
Professor of German Studies and Associated Faculty in Religious Studies, University of Arizona.
Get access

Summary

Über die Ästhetische erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe von Briefen (known as the Ästhetische Briefe [On the Aesthetic Education of Man in a Series of Letters, or the Aesthetic Letters, 1795]) may be the work by which Friedrich Schiller is best known outside Germany. Its influence has been enormous, and not just in the field of aesthetics but also in political and psychological theory. It expresses a grand vision of human potentialities that has inspired and provoked its readers, while its dazzling moments of insight into the problems of cultural development, into the nature of aesthetic experience, and into the qualities of art objects have given impetus to further reflection and sparked off fruitful debates. The analysis of the effects of the division of labor, the elaboration of the notion of art as play, the notion of Schein or aesthetic semblance, the concept of the aesthetic state — all of these ideas have had an eventful afterlife, though often detached from the matrix of Schiller's argument.

Yet despite their enormous impact and continuing resonance in cultural debates, the Ästhetische Briefe remain difficult to interpret, and many bones of critical contention remain. Does Schiller succeed in bringing his treatise to a satisfactory conclusion in the concept of the aesthetic state and how does such a state relate to the problem of political renewal identified in the early letters? Why does Schiller promise his readers a treatment of “energetic” as well as “melting” beauty but fail to deliver it? Is aesthetic education the means or the end of progress? Does the work represent the quintessence of Schiller's thought on aesthetics, or is it, as I shall argue, only one position in his continuing intellectual odyssey?

The Ästhetische Briefe are the culmination of Schiller's engagement with the nature of the beautiful and with the role of art and aesthetic experience in human development and society. These issues had long been in his mind. As early as 1784 he gave a lecture to the Kurpfälzische Deutsche Gesellschaft which was published under the title Was kann eine gute stehende Schaubühne eigentlich wirken? (What Effect Can a Good Repertory Theater Have?, 1784). Much of the answer Schiller offers reiterates familiar defenses of the theater. At the end of the essay, however, he claims that the theater affords us experience that restores our inner equilibrium and, in so doing, our harmony with our fellow human beings.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×