Talk:Arthur Schopenhauer's aesthetics

Latest comment: 6 years ago by 2A02:1810:850E:4600:F957:7BA6:13C3:B624 in topic In a nutshell

Untitled edit

  • This is a great article, but maybe something on criticisms of Schopenhauer's aesthetics would be useful. I'm currently writing an essay on the subject, so when that's done and dusted I might return and extend this article a bit.
By all means do. - Smerdis of Tlön 12:58, 6 November 2006 (UTC)Reply
  • There does not seem to be any bibliography for Schopenhauer's aesthics philosophy. Where did all this information come from? (And I mean the Primary Source, not Magee's book.) Doktor Waterhouse 13:23, 20 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
The best place to look for information about Schopenhauer's thoughts about art is The World as Will and Representation, Volume I, Third Book, Dover 1969, ISBN 0-486-21761-2.Lestrade 19:26, 20 May 2007 (UTC)LestradeReply

In a nutshell edit

Schopenhauer's aesthetics can be summarized in one sentence: "Turning your attention to the world as pure representation will relieve you from experiencing the world as will."Lestrade (talk) 12:24, 26 September 2008 (UTC)LestradeReply


I find this interpretation of Schopenhauer very strange (and the same for te article). This is from Stanford encyclopedia: "Schopenhauer states that the highest purpose of art is to communicate Platonic Ideas (WWR, Section 50)". So 'to communicate the platonic idea's', that is the opposite of the pure presentation, it is what is behind the pure presentation. This is also from the same encyclopedia: "In the structure of music, Schopenhauer discerns a series of analogies to the structure of the physical world that allow him to claim that music is a copy of Will itself." It is common knowledge that music was for Schopenhauer the highest form of art, and apparently music is identifiable with the Will. Then how could it relieve you from experiencing the world as will? Furthermore, 'to communicate the platonic idea's' is to communicate the Will, since what for Plato are the idea's, is for Schopenhauer the Will; they are both what transcends the phenomenal world. Can anyone clear this up for me and other readers? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:1810:850E:4600:F957:7BA6:13C3:B624 (talk) 13:45, 23 May 2017 (UTC)Reply

Hedonism edit

It may be a good idea to emphasize that Schopenhauer did not consider the main importance of art to be its cognitive value. Art is not important merely because it affords an opportunity to acquire knowledge of the represented object or of its Platonic Idea. For Schopenhauer, art is of major importance because of the pleasure that it affords. The pleasure is totally negative in that it consists of the absence of willing. Art takes the person, who is a mere spectator, temporarily out of his/her everyday life of wanting, desiring, and striving. For confirmation, just look at the faces of people who are engrossed in watching a fascinating film or reading a gripping novel.Lestrade (talk) 17:20, 22 September 2009 (UTC)LestradeReply