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Single Idea 21794

[filed under theme 21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 6. Value of Art ]

Full Idea

Art's primary function, for Hegel, is to give expression to the unity and wholeness of life - especially human life - that the contingencies of everyday existence frequently conceal.

Gist of Idea

The main purpose of art is to express the unity of human life

Source

Georg W.F.Hegel (Lectures on Aesthetics [1826]), quoted by Stephen Houlgate - An Introduction to Hegel 09 'Beauty'

Book Ref

Houlgate,Stephen: 'An Introduction to Hegel' [Blackwell 2005], p.220

A Reaction

I don't find the view that human life is 'unified' and 'whole' vary illuminating, and I have no objection to art which reflects the fragmentary and unstable aspects of life. I suspect Hegel would just prefer it if life were a unity.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [value of art for individuals and in society]:

2135 Truth is closely related to proportion [Plato]
2163 Artists should be excluded from a law-abiding community, because they destroy the rational mind [Plato]
20394 The purpose of art is to reveal to Spirit its own nature [Hegel, by Davies,S]
21794 The main purpose of art is to express the unity of human life [Hegel]
20415 Art forms a bridge between the sensuous world and the world of pure thought [Hegel]
8116 The will-less contemplation of art brings a liberation from selfhood [Schopenhauer, by Gardner]
4174 Man is more beautiful than anything else, and the loftiest purpose of art is to reveal his nature [Schopenhauer]
7276 All art is quite useless [Wilde]
23933 Aesthetic contemplation is the best and most intense mental state [Bell,C]
23935 Aesthetic experience is an exaltation which increases the possibilities of life [Bell,C]
20406 Art clarifies the artist's mind and feelings, thus leading to self-knowledge [Collingwood, by Davies,S]
20436 Art leads to mental health, and mental clarity [Beardsley,M, by Carroll,N]
22715 Great art proves the absurdity of art for art's sake [Murdoch]
7980 In modern times, being useless is the essential aesthetic ingredient for an object [Baudrillard]