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Arthur Schopenhauer Research Paper

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Arthur Schopenhauer was a philosopher in nineteenth century Germany. He was influenced greatly by both Plato and Kant but viewed the world as an irrational place and was very pessimistic in his views. However, he believed that relief from the “painful human condition” can be found through aesthetic appreciation and minimizing natural desires (Wicks). Schopenhauer’s aesthetics (the study of beauty) is deeply interconnected with his metaphysical and ethical beliefs (Scruton and Munro). Schopenhauer believed that through true aesthetic contemplation, the subject would become a pure subject that was truly separated from all desires, and in that moment, they would be able to experience the world as it is in itself (Knox). After examining Schopenhauer’s …show more content…
It induces a state of contemplation, and the subject is able to think about the “eternal essence” of things (Knox 133). The object of contemplation becomes separated from the relationships and associations that the subject holds, and it and the subject become one with the universal Ideas (Knox 133). “[Art] is a transition from Will to Vision, from Desire to Contemplation” (Knox 134). Art in this sense allows the subject to remove themselves from reality for a moment, to separate themselves from their desires, from the Will; and the subject, object, and perception are combined into one (Knox 133). This escape from reality allows the subject to obtain more understanding of the world in-itself as the art intensifies and clarifies experience (Knox 133). The object becomes a Platonic Ideal; it is no longer an individual, but something that exists as part of a whole species. The subject becomes aware of the themselves as a “will-less subject of knowledge,” where they are no longer an individual (Knox 134). These two things, the objects as an Idea and the subject as a will-less subject, are inseparable parts of aesthetic contemplation (Knox 134). Art releases the subject from the “bondage of life,” but this relief is only temporary, which is the downfall of art (Knox 134). This contemplative state does not last. However, in that moment the subject is removed from all individuality and identity as is the object, allowing the subject to experience a “distilled essence,” sample of the Will, or Idea, which is not qualitatively unique (Knox 134, 136). These aesthetic experiences may not be unique, but they are on a scale. Certain forms of art objectivity the Will less than others (Knox 134-135). For example, architecture objectifies the Will less than poetry or painting (Knox

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