freedom from mentally restrictive institutions. Religion is suspect as it
requires man to be led to God, specifically, in Kant's opinion, that
impedes his quest for enlightenment (Kant 2002). More importantly, man
moves to the center of his own universe, usurping the position that God
previously occupied. As center of his universe, man's actions are no
longer directed by God but by his own choices, his own will and desires.
In his Asthetische Erziehung der Menschen in einer Reihe von
Briefen, Schiller argues that beauty and art are connected with man's
moral instincts, and that morality (Sittlichkeit) and beauty have the
ability to transform and ennoble even the basest person (Schiller 1982).
Schiller perceives of the Enlightenment as a failure, primarily by its
failure to produce any significant changes to the condition of mankind.
What most frustrated him about the "bloSe theoretische Kultur" (Schiller
1992) of the enlightenment was its Epicureanism, which he condemned
in Kantian terms. Specifically, Schiller maintains that "ein raffinierter
und consquenter Epikureism ... angefangen[hat], alle Energie des
Karakters zu ersticken" (Schiller 1992). He felt mankind had became
more dependent on others for guidance and had adopted a maxim of
"Passivitat und des leidenden Gehorsams" (Schiller 1992). He argues that
this has led to a narrowness of thought, which he feels contradicts the
character of the enlightenment.
Ultimately, the concept of man's uncultured nature forms the
backbone of Schiller's concept of an aesthetic education: "Und so sehen
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