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"An indispensable aid to any serious study of Schiller...noone who cares about the place of the arts in human life and about their role in modern society can afford to ignore it."--W. Witte, Modern Language Review
Product Description
Schiller's 1795 essay on the educative function of art is one of the most important contributions to the history of ideas in modern times. This English-German parallel text edition includes a long analytical introduction and extensive notes.
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"I HAVE, then,your gracious permission to submit the results of my inquiry concerning Art and Beauty in the form of a series of letters." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"I HAVE, then,your gracious permission to submit the results of my inquiry concerning Art and Beauty in the form of a series of letters." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Friedrich Schiller is perhaps better known as the great tragedian ofGerman literature's classical period; the friend of Goethe and author ofplays such as 'The Robbers', 'Wallenstein' and 'Don Carlos'. However, formuch of his short life he also pursued a considerable and distinguishedinterest in philosophy, and for a number of years held the chair inhistory at Jena. It was in the mid-1790s, when concern at events inrevolutionary France was at its height, that Schiller decided to addressthe question of how it was possible for a society to become free withoutdescending into anarchy. For the creator of Karl Moor and Don Carlos thiswas no easy task, and not one that could simply decreed by thepronouncements of a revolutionary assembly. Rather it required a totaltransformation in the nature of man and his society. Drawing on the workof Kant, but building upon it and moving beyond it, Schiller posited theidea of man's aesthetic education as a bridge towards the future society;a means of returning man to wholeness with himself and his society, thusprefiguring (and inspiring) many of the ideas of the generation of GermanRomantics, such as Novalis and the Schlegels, growing up at thistime.
The Willoughby edition contains a fine introduction to the workin its philosophical, historical, and personal contexts, and in itspresentation of the original text alongside the English translation mustbe considered the definitive edition. It should perhaps be noted thatreaders expecting to find theories of artistic appreciation or creativityfrom this great artist will be disappointed. Schiller's concerns lieelsewhere in this work. However, for those interested in what GordanCraig long ago termed 'the politics of the unpolitical', and Germanthought in general, this cannot but be a necessary read.
The Willoughby edition contains a fine introduction to the workin its philosophical, historical, and personal contexts, and in itspresentation of the original text alongside the English translation mustbe considered the definitive edition. It should perhaps be noted thatreaders expecting to find theories of artistic appreciation or creativityfrom this great artist will be disappointed. Schiller's concerns lieelsewhere in this work. However, for those interested in what GordanCraig long ago termed 'the politics of the unpolitical', and Germanthought in general, this cannot but be a necessary read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Excellent edition of an excellent work.
13 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback
Writing in the 1790s, Schiller united the rigorous epistemology of Kant and Fichte with Plato's dynamic account of the development of the soul to produce one of the most beautiful works of philosophy in the European tradition. The Letters on Aesthetic Education offer an interpretation of the development of the individual and the parallel development of Western civilization. These interpretations focus on the conditions that allow for mental health in a human individual and society, and especially demonstrate (as the title indicates) the crucial role of artistic experience in healthy human development. This is a great work, and a great introduction to the other German philosophers of the 19th Century (Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, et al). This edition is very good: the translation is good, and it has a facing German text. Highly recommended.
Schiller's aesthetic reflections
19 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Friedrich Schiller composed in a series of 'letters' a profound, stimulating and important reflection on the relevance of our aesthetic experience. He was influenced by his contemporary Immanuel Kant and goes on to explore the implications that emerge from our understanding of the sublime in relation to culture, society and our own edification. His short and erudite expositions reflect his response to the tumultuous times that existed at the end of the 18th Century. His 'letters' are insightful of a man who wants his readers to make a difference to the ennoblement of life rather than descend to the easy pursuit of the superficialities that are just as obvious in our lives today.
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful
A Classic!
25 Oct 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok here's a little pop culture bit to sweeten the mighty load of Friedrich Schiller: The intellectuals of this period, inspired and defined by Goethe's seminal teen-angst classic The Sorrows of Young Werther. Werther's style is still seen today in the goth subculture- moopy, depressed, poetic, etc. Basically that's a combination of Anglo Byronic romanticism and German romanticism. One of the main symbols of the Werther/Schiller era of German Romanticism is the blue flower of Novalis. (Wiki)
I see Schiller as being the actual embodiment of the Werther character, particularly after finishing the Aesthetic Educations of Man, a book I've now read three different times (undergraduate, law school, last month.) That's probably because I see this book as kind of the birth of Romantic Pop Culture. Basically, Schiller took Kantian idealism and crossed it with a popular format (i.e. they're written as "letters") Unlike Kant, you can actually read Schiller, since this book is only 140 pages long.
The reason this book is still relevant is that Kantian idealism underlays most popular manifestations of Romanticism, but most people who consider themselves "Romantics" literally have no idea what Kantian idealism means. Myself included. Thus, by reading this one 140 page book, you can kind of get a handle on the relationship, and gain a better understanding of artists who are influenced by this time period. Like Depeche Mode... or, for a more hipster specific reference, Dr. Octagon's classic Blue Flowers. Cue lyrics:
Look at the land... Blue Flowers!
Drawing by the purple pond, in the purple pastures Blue Flowers!
Drawing by the purple pond, yellow ink that flows Blue Flowers
Romanticism runs strong and deep in all of the Western nations. It is, in fact, the primary ideology for people dissatisfied with reality Just think about the prevalence of the "lonely hero." It's also the primary posture of artists of all stripes. The more "popular" the art, the more romantic it is likely to be.
Romanticism is both current and 400+ years old. Thus, contemporary artists can manipulate the audience by being more aware of the symbols and modes of thought of something like Romanticism, since the listener WILL respond: Think of all the people wearing Depeche Mode T-Shirts with Blue Flowers and Tour Dates printed on the back. That's pure, unadulterated, 18th century German Romanticism. The modern artist is inevitably an interpreter/re-interpreter of symbols with long-standing cultural resonance.
I see Schiller as being the actual embodiment of the Werther character, particularly after finishing the Aesthetic Educations of Man, a book I've now read three different times (undergraduate, law school, last month.) That's probably because I see this book as kind of the birth of Romantic Pop Culture. Basically, Schiller took Kantian idealism and crossed it with a popular format (i.e. they're written as "letters") Unlike Kant, you can actually read Schiller, since this book is only 140 pages long.
The reason this book is still relevant is that Kantian idealism underlays most popular manifestations of Romanticism, but most people who consider themselves "Romantics" literally have no idea what Kantian idealism means. Myself included. Thus, by reading this one 140 page book, you can kind of get a handle on the relationship, and gain a better understanding of artists who are influenced by this time period. Like Depeche Mode... or, for a more hipster specific reference, Dr. Octagon's classic Blue Flowers. Cue lyrics:
Look at the land... Blue Flowers!
Drawing by the purple pond, in the purple pastures Blue Flowers!
Drawing by the purple pond, yellow ink that flows Blue Flowers
Romanticism runs strong and deep in all of the Western nations. It is, in fact, the primary ideology for people dissatisfied with reality Just think about the prevalence of the "lonely hero." It's also the primary posture of artists of all stripes. The more "popular" the art, the more romantic it is likely to be.
Romanticism is both current and 400+ years old. Thus, contemporary artists can manipulate the audience by being more aware of the symbols and modes of thought of something like Romanticism, since the listener WILL respond: Think of all the people wearing Depeche Mode T-Shirts with Blue Flowers and Tour Dates printed on the back. That's pure, unadulterated, 18th century German Romanticism. The modern artist is inevitably an interpreter/re-interpreter of symbols with long-standing cultural resonance.
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