Interpretation of Friedrich Schiller “On the
Aesthetic Education of Man.”
The
aesthetic mode frees and unites man by removing artificial limits imputed by
social convention and it can expand humanity’s knowledge through the powers of
imagination and beauty. The aesthetic
mode is natural and intrinsic to man, and it manifests freedom because it works
independently from natural, social or moral laws.
Beauty manifests in conditions where
man’s essential needs have been surpassed.
It is found through the engagement of the world, opening the senses to
new experiences and enjoying relationships formed with other people. This
cycle returns on itself, and it strengthens the want for further exploration
and enjoyment. Beauty is realized
through “delight in semblance,” or the use of the playful imagination to form
abstractions from imitations and representations.
Delight in semblance demands the
separation of pure reality and truth, from our perceptions, when we are forming
understanding. Reliance on the pure
material, or the pure conceptual, inhibits the imagination and prevents further
understanding of culture or the human condition. Imagination comes from within, and it has
the unique ability to play while disregarding outside forces and cultural
influences. The imagination works by
stretching the mind during sensory experiences and then forming new ideas
through abstractions and associations.
People realize the aesthetic mode when they start abstracting new ideas
through their imaginations.
Nature, through our senses and
interpretation, forms our knowledge base of the world. Honest semblance occurs when one can differentiate
between reality and their notions of reality.
Once achieved, the imagination has the unlimited capacity to play with
and combine concepts to form further abstractions. It is the differentiation between reality and
the abstract ideas of reality that preserves the truth. Materially or conceptually, one knows they only
have the idea of something, not the pure thing itself.
People with honest semblance have an
understanding of taste. They see past
the superficial and search for the deeper and more satisfying elements of
life. Their imagination is
unrestricted. The only threat to honest
semblance is public opinion; those people that can only understand the material
by the material, or believe in absolute truths without a basis in the
material. People living in these
extremes lack the aesthetic mode and are unable to form deeper meaning of the
human condition. There is always
conflict between honest semblance and ignorance. However, there is always freedom as long as we
are willing to use our imagination on our own terms.
Nature provides people with more than
they need. It is within these abundances
that people are able to free themselves from want, and the material, and engage
the imagination. With the further
removal of external pressures, people are able to liberate their
imagination. What starts as the first
semblances of imagination transforms into the full aesthetic mode. What was first a need and appreciated only in
its utility shifts to appreciation of form and charms. Form and imagination
supersede function. The aesthetic mode,
through disinterest or undirected pleasure, returns on itself and becomes a
necessity.
Full use of the imagination, or honest
semblance, requires the removal of all outside limitations. “Dynamic state of rights” means the
manifestation of freedom through freedom.
Dynamic state of rights does not work if one limits their activities or
curbs their desires. The dynamic state
allows the formation of societies, morals and taste. Beauty, and the aesthetic mode unite culture
as universal notions can manifest from the individual. All other forms of perceptions divide man as
they are based in the sensuous or the spiritual. These concepts are derived from the
individual and cannot be universalized.
The aesthetic mode has the capacity to “draw out the mysteries of
science,” and transform them into common knowledge that serves all of
humanity. The unrealized bounty of the
aesthetic mode is predicated on beauty, honest semblance, the will to explore
and the courage to stand against the limiting forces of social convention.
Works Cited
Schiller, Friedrich. “On the Aesthetic
Education of Man.” Art 623,
Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web. Sept 1, 2013
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