Full Idea
Irony is the clear conscousness of eternal agility, of an infinitely abundant chaos.
Gist of Idea
Irony is consciousness of abundant chaos
Source
Friedrich Schlegel (works [1798], Vol 2 p.263), quoted by Ernst Behler - Early German Romanticism p.81
Book Reference
'A Companion to Continental Philosophy', ed/tr. Critchley,S/Schroeder,W [Blackwell 1999], p.81
A Reaction
[1800, in Athenaum] The interest here is irony as a reaction to chaos, which has made systematic thought impossible. Do romantics necessarily see reality as beyond our grasp, even if not chaotic? This must be situational, not verbal irony.
Related Idea
Idea 22069 Plato has no system. Philosophy is the progression of a mind and development of thoughts [Schlegel,F]