The Aesthetic Life : a Leitmotif in Modern Japanese Aesthetics

In 1901, Chogyu Takayama (1871-1902), philosopher and literary critic, published a short article entitled “On the Aesthetic Life.” Takayama’s article, regarded as a manifesto of Nietzscheism by his contemporaries, triggered a great debate among a great many literary critics, including Shoyo Tsubouchi and Ogai Mori. This paper argues that Takayama’s article constituted a framework for aesthetic thought in modern Japan and marked the Japanization of Western modern aesthetics. Takayama was not interested in the modern Western idea of autonomous art; instead, he tried to work out the aesthetic in one’s way of living. What underlies Takayama’s idea of the aesthetic life is, to my mind, a traditional Japanese view of art according to which beauty is to be sought inside the world, not beyond the world. In other words, the idea of the aesthetic was decontextualized from its Western context of autonomous art and recontextualized within the traditional concept of the art of living. This is why his idea of the aesthetic life caused a profound echo and became a keynote in twentieth-century Japanese aesthetics

The Idea of “Inner Form” and Its Transformation

Der Begriff der „inneren Form“ stammt vom Begründer des sogenannten Neuplatonismus, Plotin, und hatte entscheidenden Einfluss auf die ästhetische Theorie von der Renaissance bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Lessings Annahme eines „Raphael ohne Hände“ in Emilia Galotti (1772) verkörpert das Ideal des neuplatonischen Künstlers, der mittels seiner rein geistigen Konzeption schafft, ohne durch die materielle Welt beeinträchtigt zu werden. Allerdings macht die Vorstellung eines Malers, der nicht malt, die spezifische Problematik der neuplatonischen Kunstauffassung offenbar. Im 19. und 20. Jh. wurde die neuplatonische These, dass die innere Form (bzw. das Konzipieren) der Form am Körper (bzw. dem Produzieren) vorausgehe, auf verschiedene Weise in frage gestellt. So vertritt z. B. Konrad Fiedler die These, dass die innere Konzeption erst dann vollendet wird, wenn sie sich in einer konkreten Materie realisiert. Jedoch lässt sich die „industrielle Formgestaltung“ im 20. Jh., die dem Konzipieren gegenüber dem Produzieren Priorität verleiht, als ein, wenn auch unerwünschter, Nachkömmling des Neuplatonismus bezeichnen. Ferner zeugt Duchamps ready made auf ironische Weise vom Überleben der neuplatonischen Kunstauffassung bis ins 20. Jahrhundert, sofern dieses sowohl das Schaffen mit den Händen als auch das Material vernachlässigt und darüber hinaus industrielle Massenprodukte als Kunstwerke zur Schau stellt.Pojam “unutrašnje forme” potječe od utemeljitelja tzv. neoplatonizma, Plotina, i imao je odlučujući utjecaj na estetičku teoriju od renesanse do 18. stoljeća. Lessingova pretpostavka “Rafaela bez ruku” u Emilia Galotti (1772) utjelovljuje ideal neoplatoničkog umjetnika, koji stvara putem čiste duhovne koncepcije, neoskvrnjen od materijalnog svijeta. Doduše, predstava slikara koji ne slika očituje specifičnu problematiku neoplatoničkog shvaćanja umjetnosti. U 19. i 20 stoljeću na različite se načine postavlja u pitanje neoplatonička teza da unutrašnja forma (odnosno koncipiranje) prethodi formi na tijelu (odnosno u proizvodnji). Tako npr. Konrad Fiedler zastupa tezu da se unutrašnja koncepcija upotpunjuje tek kad se realizira u konkretnoj materiji. Ipak, “industrijsko oblikovanje forme” u 20. st., koje poklanja prioritet koncipiranju nasuprot proizvodnji, može se opisati kao, ako i neželjeni, potomak neoplatonizma. Nadalje, Duchampovo ready made na ironičan način svjedoči o preživljavanju neoplatoničkog shvaćanja umjetnosti u 20. st., utoliko što zanemaruje stvaranje rukama jednako kao i materijal, te povrh toga postavlja industrijske masovne produkte kao umjetnička djela.The idea of “inner form” originates from Plotin, the founder of the so-called Neo-Platonism, and had a decisive influence on aesthetic theory from Renaissance to the 18th century. Lessing‘s assumption of “Raphael without hands” in Emilia Galotti (1772) embodies the ideal of Neoplatonist artist, who creates with his purely mental conception, untainted by the material world. Admittedly, the image of a painter who doesn‘t paint reflects the specific problematic nature of Neoplatonist conception of art. The 19th and 20th centuries saw the Neoplatonist thesis that inner form (i.e. conceptualisation) precedes form on body (i.e. production) challenged in many ways. For example, Konrad Fiedler advances the thesis that inner conception is finalised only when it is realised in some concrete matter. Nevertheless, 20th century “industrial design”, which puts conceptualisation before production, may still be described as a descendant of Neoplatonism, albeit an undesired one. Furthermore, by neglecting creation with hands as well as the material and thereby representing industrial mass products as works of art, Duchamp‘s ready made ironically testifies to the survival of Neoplatonist conception of art in the 20th century

"Raphael without Hands" : The Idea of the Inner Form and its Transformations

The idea of the inner form originates from the founder of Neoplatonism, Plotinus(205-270); the idea significantly influenced aesthetic theories from the Renaissance to the 18th century. The modern concept of artist is closely related to this Neoplatonic idea. While the meaning of the idea of the inner form cannot be emphasized enough, few have thus far attempted to examine the role this idea played in antiquity and the changes the idea underwent in the modern era. In this paper, I first examine Plotinus's theory in connection with Plato and Aristotle and then examine its influence on the aesthetic theories from the 18th to the 20th century, providing a new perspective on modern aesthetics

Wann spricht die schweigende, wann schweigt die sprechende Natur? Schellings Kunstphilosophie und die romantische Kunstauffassung

Ⅲ. Natur- und Kunstphilosophi