‘That They Point Is All There Is to It’: Wittgenstein’s Romanticist Aesthetics Cover Image

‘That They Point Is All There Is to It’: Wittgenstein’s Romanticist Aesthetics
‘That They Point Is All There Is to It’: Wittgenstein’s Romanticist Aesthetics

Author(s): Clinton Peter Verdonschot
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Filozofická fakulta, Vydavatelství
Keywords: Wittgenstein style; Schlegel; allegory; aesthetic reasons; ethical norms

Summary/Abstract: Why is aesthetics important to Wittgenstein? What, according to him, is the function of the aesthetic? My answer consists of three parts: first, I argue that Wittgenstein finds himself in an aporia of normative consciousness – that is to say, a problem with regard to our awareness of the world in terms of its relation to a norm. Second, I argue that the function of Wittgenstein’s aesthetic writings is to deal with this aporia. Third, through a comparison with Friedrich Schlegel’s writings on allegory, I try to show that the way in which Wittgenstein resolves the aporia renders him a Romanticist philosopher. The point of an aesthetic interaction, for Wittgenstein, is that it can render clear what cannot be described without running against the walls of our cage: the absolute. Through aesthetic interactions we are able to (indirectly) access a ground for norms by which we experience ourselves as unconditionally bound.

  • Issue Year: 58/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 72-88
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: English