Hegel - Introduction to Aesthetics

September Oct 5, 2013

Summary Interpretation  for Friedrich G.W.F. Hegel Introduction to Aesthetics

            This introduction is about aesthetics, beauty and fine art.  The traditional term of aesthetics applies to the science of sensation and feeling.  In this introduction, aesthetics will have the meaning of philosophy of fine art.   Beauty and aesthetics have more to offer than conventional associations with nature because of their potential to transcend the material.   Aesthetics is “born of the spirit and born again.”  This perspective allows aesthetics to be reviewed in light of all its possibilities.     

            Is scientific inquiry the best method for the evaluation of fine art?   Traditional notions of art convey associations with indulgences, relaxation and luxury.  The nature of art does not suggest scientific seriousness, and art is generally defended on its practicality, with emphasize on morality and piety.  Scientific inquiry works in the realm of reason and duty.  Art does not; it is forever in between the evaluative measures of science.  Art can achieve the higher realms, but it can only do so as a means.  It does not reveal a truth through and by itself.  It refers to a truth through representations, or deceptions.  The beauty of art comes from the senses, feeling, intuition and the imagination.  These forms of thought are generally outside the realm of reason and scientific inquiry.     The freedoms inherent to art reject the observational boundaries of scientific inquiry.  It is in art’s nature to thrive in freedom and thereby stimulating the creative imagination to move beyond itself.  The scientific method is incapable of evaluating art because it reduces artistic elements until there is no context, and it removes the imaginative forms of thought that are revelatory to creative interpretation and the formation of meaning.

            Art lives as a part of life, not independent from it.  It is necessary to consider how art works within its means.  Fine art occurs when a work brings out the divine; when it honestly reflects the human condition and deeper levels of understanding.  Art is sometimes the sole key to the understanding of other cultures.  It is through their philosophical and religious beliefs depicted by their art that gives us insight to their society.  The “sensuous reality” is struck first, and it acts as a bridge between pure thought, the external, our senses and nature.  Once engaged, we have the capacity to generate “infinite freedom of conceptual thinking.”  Art works by stimulating our inner world and imagination through depictions that our senses can relate.

            Art enhances reality by transforming ordinary objects so they can be contemplated at higher spiritual levels.  The reality and truth of an object is found within itself.  However, art imitates the object in relation to the human condition.  The infusion of human sentiment and feeling elevates the object beyond its basic existence.  In this manner, fine art gives meaning to the mundane.

            Art may be considered deceptive, but it is less deceptive than the tools of History and Moral Philosophy.  History is bound to the specific details of an event or a person, and it can only document what was.  Art is free to interpret and ponder History without restriction.  Art can forward notions of governance and generate new ideas that improve the human condition.  Symbolic references that are religious or moral in nature tend to present themselves as factual representations of specific ideas.  Art does not claim truth, and as such, encourages the conceptual freedom to generate ideas beyond itself and the object.   History and Religious Philosophy tend to be static, they are based on particulars and they silently claim to be a truth.  Art is dynamic, makes no claims of truth, speaks to universals and it encourages freedom of thought.

            Art has changed over time.  Art was directly linked with the search for religious enlightenment and truth.  However, those notions have been abandoned.  Today, art is presented for immediate enjoyment and judgment.  Judgment is the addition of the intellect to pronounce opinions based on the feelings art evokes and its relative meaning.  Unfortunately, most people are not educated in fine art, and their general approach is skewed through their own individual needs and desires.

            There is a theory that human comprehension estranges man from nature.  That is, the formation of concepts removes us from the reality of the things we perceive.  Based on this theory, art removes us from nature, rather than bringing us closer.   However, thinking is reflective of the inner spirit, and it is always true to its nature.  The conceptual ideas created by the spirit, “are themselves of a spiritual kind.”  Art thrives near the spirit, more so than concepts of the purely material.  As thinking is intrinsic to the spirit, the spirit is only satisfied when thinking has completed its function.  People are brought closer to nature as the creative mind generates deeper meaning than just notions of materiality.

            Art can be evaluated through a philosophy of fine art.   However, not all art should be considered fine art.  Natural artistic boundaries form from the shared universal ideals of the human spirit.  While there are all kinds of art, only fine art has the ability to engage the spirit and compel it to manifest and generate ideas reflective of the human condition.

Works Cited

Hegel, G.W.F. Introduction to Aesthetics: Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (2010). Print.