On the Aesthetic Sources and Boundaries of the Art of a Free Life
On the Aesthetic Sources and Boundaries of the Art of a Free Life

Summary/Abstract: The article comprises four parts. In the first part, Lusting for beauty, Odysseus on the track to disastrous freedom, I present the story of Odysseus who uses his companions’ help in order to experience the aesthetic beauty of the Sirens’ voice. The adventure with the Sirens changes not only Odysseus (who “mellows”), but also his crewmen (for the first time, they recognize their own subjectivity as well as the right to decide about their own lives). In the second part, A philosophical introduction to the problem of freedom, I compare two modes of thinking about freedom – systems thinking (I refer to Leszek Nowak’s conception) and nonsystems (post-modern) thinking. Both of them meet in the final conclusion: it is only legitimate and true to state the lack of freedom, whereas a positive announcement of freedom carries a stigma of failure. In the third part, Artistic landscapes, I describe three experiences of art and I diversify them in reference to how they treat a necessity and coincidence. The fourth part, In search of hope for safe freedom, stands for a declaration that only art and love can be the source of existentially safe freedom.

• Details
• Contents