Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten
Encyclopedia
Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (July 17, 1714 – May 26, 1762) was a German
philosopher.
as the fifth of seven sons of the pietist pastor
of the garrison
, Jacob Baumgarten and his wife Rosina Elisabeth.
Both his parents died early and he was taught by Martin Georg Christgau where he learned Hebrew and became interested in Latin
Poetry
.
Whilst words may change their meaning through cultural developments anyway, Baumgarten's reappraisal of aesthetics
is often seen as the key moment in the development of aesthetic philosophy. Previously the word had merely meant 'sensibility' or 'responsiveness to stimulation of the senses' in its use by ancient writers. With the development of art as a commercial enterprise linked to the rise of a nouveau riche
class across Europe, the purchasing of art inevitably lead to the question, 'what is good art'. Baumgarten developed aesthetics to mean the study of good and bad "taste
," thus good and bad art, linking good taste with beauty.
By trying to develop an idea of good and bad taste, he also in turn generated philosophical debate around this new meaning of aesthetics. Without it, there would be no basis for aesthetic debate as there would be no objective criterion, basis for comparison, or reason from which one could develop an objective argument.
Nine years later, in his Critique of Judgment, Kant conformed to Baumgarten's new usage and employed the word aesthetic to mean the judgment of taste
or the estimation of the beautiful. For Kant, an aesthetic judgment is subjective in that it relates to the internal feeling of pleasure or displeasure and not to any qualities in an external object.
In 1897, Leo Tolstoy
, in his What is Art?
, criticized Baumgarten's book on aesthetics. Tolstoy opposed "Baumgarten's trinity — Good, Truth and Beauty…." Tolstoy asserted that "these words not only have no definite meaning, but they hinder us from giving any definite meaning to existing art…." Baumgarten, he said, claimed that there are three ways to know perfection: "Beauty is the perfect (the absolute) perceived by the senses. Truth is the perfect perceived by reason. The good is the perfect attained by the moral will." Tolstoy, however, contradicted Baumgarten's theory and claimed that good, truth, and beauty have nothing in common and may even oppose each other.
used Baumgarten's Metaphysics as a handbook or manual for his lectures on that topic.
Georg Friedrich Meier
translated the Metaphysics from Latin to German, an endeavour which - according to Meier - Baumgarten himself had planned, but could not find the time to execute.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
philosopher.
Biography
Baumgarten was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
as the fifth of seven sons of the pietist pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
, Jacob Baumgarten and his wife Rosina Elisabeth.
Both his parents died early and he was taught by Martin Georg Christgau where he learned Hebrew and became interested in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.
Whilst words may change their meaning through cultural developments anyway, Baumgarten's reappraisal of aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
is often seen as the key moment in the development of aesthetic philosophy. Previously the word had merely meant 'sensibility' or 'responsiveness to stimulation of the senses' in its use by ancient writers. With the development of art as a commercial enterprise linked to the rise of a nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
class across Europe, the purchasing of art inevitably lead to the question, 'what is good art'. Baumgarten developed aesthetics to mean the study of good and bad "taste
Taste (sociology)
Taste as an aesthetic, sociological, economic and anthropological concept refers to a cultural patterns of choice and preference. While taste is often understood as a biological concept, it can also be reasonably studied as a social or cultural phenomenon. Taste is about drawing distinctions...
," thus good and bad art, linking good taste with beauty.
By trying to develop an idea of good and bad taste, he also in turn generated philosophical debate around this new meaning of aesthetics. Without it, there would be no basis for aesthetic debate as there would be no objective criterion, basis for comparison, or reason from which one could develop an objective argument.
Views on aesthetics
Baumgarten appropriated the word aesthetics, which had always meant sensation, to mean taste or "sense" of beauty. In so doing, he gave the word a different significance, thereby inventing its modern usage. The word had been used differently since the time of the ancient Greeks to mean the ability to receive stimulation from one or more of the five bodily senses. In his Metaphysic, § 451, Baumgarten defined taste, in its wider meaning, as the ability to judge according to the senses, instead of according to the intellect. Such a judgment of taste is based on feelings of pleasure or displeasure. A science of aesthetics would be, for Baumgarten, a deduction of the rules or principles of artistic or natural beauty from individual "taste." Baumgarten may have been motivated to respond to Pierre Bonhours' opinion, published in a pamphlet in the late 17th century, that Germans were incapable of appreciating art and beauty.Reception
In 1781, Kant declared that Baumgarten's aesthetics could never contain objective rules, laws, or principles of natural or artistic beauty.Nine years later, in his Critique of Judgment, Kant conformed to Baumgarten's new usage and employed the word aesthetic to mean the judgment of taste
Taste (sociology)
Taste as an aesthetic, sociological, economic and anthropological concept refers to a cultural patterns of choice and preference. While taste is often understood as a biological concept, it can also be reasonably studied as a social or cultural phenomenon. Taste is about drawing distinctions...
or the estimation of the beautiful. For Kant, an aesthetic judgment is subjective in that it relates to the internal feeling of pleasure or displeasure and not to any qualities in an external object.
In 1897, Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, in his What is Art?
What Is Art?
"What Is Art?" is an essay by Leo Tolstoy in which he argues against numerous aesthetic theories which define art in terms of the good, truth, and especially beauty...
, criticized Baumgarten's book on aesthetics. Tolstoy opposed "Baumgarten's trinity — Good, Truth and Beauty…." Tolstoy asserted that "these words not only have no definite meaning, but they hinder us from giving any definite meaning to existing art…." Baumgarten, he said, claimed that there are three ways to know perfection: "Beauty is the perfect (the absolute) perceived by the senses. Truth is the perfect perceived by reason. The good is the perfect attained by the moral will." Tolstoy, however, contradicted Baumgarten's theory and claimed that good, truth, and beauty have nothing in common and may even oppose each other.
Metaphysics
For many years, KantImmanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
used Baumgarten's Metaphysics as a handbook or manual for his lectures on that topic.
Georg Friedrich Meier
Georg Friedrich Meier
Georg Friedrich Meier was a German philosopher and aesthetician. A follower of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Meier reformed the philosophy of Christian Wolff by introducing elements of John Locke's empiricist theory of knowledge.Meier studied philosophy and theology at the University of Halle,...
translated the Metaphysics from Latin to German, an endeavour which - according to Meier - Baumgarten himself had planned, but could not find the time to execute.
Works
- Dissertatio chorographica, Notiones superi et inferi, indeque adscensus et descensus, in chorographiis sacris occurentes, evolvens (1735)
- Meditationes philosophicae de nonnullis ad poema pertinentibus (1735)
- De ordine in audiendis philosophicis per triennium academicum quaedam praefatus acroases proximae aestati destinatas indicit Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1738)
- Metaphysica (1739)
- Ethica philosophica (1740)
- Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten eröffnet Einige Gedancken vom vernünfftigen Beyfall auf Academien, und ladet zu seiner Antritts-Rede [...] ein (1740)
- Serenissimo potentissimo principi Friderico, Regi Borussorum marchioni brandenburgico S. R. J. archicamerario et electori, caetera, clementissimo dominio felicia regni felicis auspicia, a d. III. Non. Quinct. 1740 (1740)
- Philosophische Briefe von Aletheophilus (1741)
- Scriptis, quae moderator conflictus academici disputavit, praefatus rationes acroasium suarum Viadrinarum reddit Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1743)
- Aesthetica (1750)
- Initia Philosophiae Practicae. Primae Acroamatice (1760)
- Acroasis logica in Christianum L.B. de Wolff (1761, 2nd ed. 1773)
- Ius naturae (posthum 1763)
- Sciagraphia encyclopaedia philosophicae (ed. Johs. Christian Foerster 1769)
- Philosophia generalis (ed. Johs. Christian Foerster 1770)
- Alex. Gottl. Baumgartenii Praelectiones theologiae dogmaticae (ed. Salomon Semmler; 1773)
- Metaphysica (übers. Georg Friedrich MeierGeorg Friedrich MeierGeorg Friedrich Meier was a German philosopher and aesthetician. A follower of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Meier reformed the philosophy of Christian Wolff by introducing elements of John Locke's empiricist theory of knowledge.Meier studied philosophy and theology at the University of Halle,...
1776) - Gedanken über die Reden Jesu nach dem Inhalt der evangelischen Geschichten (ed. F.G. Scheltz & A.B. Thiele; 1796–1797)