Friedrich Schillers Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe von Briefen Woran liegt es, dass wir noch immer Barbaren sind? Zur Aktualität Schillers Konzeption einer ästhetischen Erziehung des Menschen im frühen 21. Jahrhundert

Details

Supervisors

Büssgen, Antje

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques, à finalité didactique

Abstract

enThe aim of this paper is to examine Friedrich Schiller’s concept of aesthetic education for its relevance in the 21st century. A first section is devoted to analysing the extent to which Schiller’s anthropology was influenced by the ideas and philosophers of the Enlightenment and the significance of the French Revolution for the writing of Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe von Briefen. Schiller’s two-fold approach to the human being is subsequently outlined, which attributes equal relevance to both the activity of the senses and the activity of the intellect. In his publication Briefen über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen, Schiller criticises the alienation of the individual in modern society and wonders why the humanistic goals of the Enlightenment could not be realised. His approach to solving the problems of his time is the aesthetic experience that arises in the contemplation of autonomous art. According to Schiller, in the aesthetic mood, the individual attains wholeness of his being, which enables it to act morally and thereby to attain freedom of its entire being. Schiller’s vision postulates the self-education of the individual as a moral being by means of arts, which in a further step could lead to a transformation of society. The concluding chapter discusses how Schiller’s concept can be of relevance to society in the 21st century. Eventually, in light of statements by renowned sociologists, the question as to whether humans in the 21st century are still barbarians will be answered and as to how the aesthetic experience could be made fruitful for today’s society.