much the same way beauty does. It is important to note that Kant never
explicitly discusses ugliness, but his discussion of Unlust, in my opinion,
aligns itself with ugliness.
Schiller's aesthetic philosophy, an expansion on Kantian
principles, can best be summarized by his belief in the political
dimension of the potential of beauty. Beauty can do more than engender
an emotion in its observer. In his Kallias Briefe oder iiber die Schonheit,
Schiller maintains that "Schonheit also ist nichts anders als Freiheit in
der Erscheinung" (Schiller 2003). Perhaps this definition of beauty best
encapsulates philosophy's inability to determine not only the specific
properties of beauty and a specific form for it. By associating beauty with
freedom in appearence, Schiller also creates a connection between
aethetics and politics. While Kant does discuss the moralizing aspect of
aesthetics, Schiller's exposition adds a new aspect to this argument. The
idea that beauty could be associated with Erscheinung, appearence,
implies its phenomenal nature.
Schiller's politicization of beauty is problematic. Beauty as an
idealized form is constantly discussed throughout aesthetic theory, but
Schiller transforms it into a fundamental opposition: how can something
imaginary find form in reality? He contends that there is a problem with
the concept of beauty's moral utility.
Daher kommt es, dalS die moralische ZweckmaiSigkeit, oder
auch einer Handlungsart, zur Schonheit derselben so wenig
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