Beauty as an idea that can be developed and realized: A historical comparative study of Schiller’s aesthetics

Xiangfei  Bao

doi:10.59400/fps2344

Xiangfei Bao School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Article ID: 2344

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/fps2344

Keywords: Schiller; Plato; Baumgarten; Kant; idea of freedom; realizability

Abstract

Schiller’s work is deeply rooted in Western philosophical traditions and significantly influences the evolution of aesthetics in the nineteenth century. Despite its foundational role, Schiller’s writings exhibit a lack of precision and systematic structure. This paper employs a historical-comparative approach to examine Schiller’s aesthetics in relation to other philosophical perspectives. By re-evaluating and interpreting classical texts, the study aims to provide a comprehensive clarification of Schiller’s aesthetic theory. Schiller conceptualizes beauty as an idea, yet this conception diverges from the notions advanced by Plato and Kant. He reconfigures the relationship between beauty and perfection, suggesting a return to Baumgarten’s principles. In Schiller’s view, perfect beauty encompasses its own reality, thereby addressing and surpassing the subjectivity and abstraction found in Kantian aesthetics. Furthermore, Schiller explores the origin and development of freedom, positing that freedom evolves through its awakening and growth, thereby demonstrating the realizability of beauty and the full potential of human nature.

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