Aesthetics (Volume 1)

Author: (German) Hegel
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-11-01
Features: These lectures are about the beautiful; their subject is the vast realm of beauty, to be more precise, it is art, or rather, the beautiful art. For this subject, the term "Aesthetics" is not entirely appropriate, because the more precise meaning of "Aesthetics" is the science of sensation and emotion. Even in this sense, beauty only began to become a new science or rather, a department of philosophy within the Wolffian school; at that time in Germany, people usually regarded the pleasure, wonder, fear, and sorrow that artworks evoke as the essence of art. Since the term "Aesthetics" is inappropriate, to be more precise, it is superficial, some people sought alternative names, such as "Kallistik." However, this name is also not entirely suitable, because the science it refers to discusses not general beauty but only the beauty of art. Therefore, the author will for now continue to use the term "Aesthetics," as the name itself is of little consequence to the author, and since it has already been adopted by general language, it may as well be retained. The proper name of this science, however, is "Art Philosophy," or more precisely, "The Philosophy of Beautiful Art."