what is the theory of the sublime

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What is the meaning of sublime in philosophy?

Sublime (philosophy) In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublīmis) is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.

What is sublime According to Edmund Burke?

Edmund Burke argued that the sublime is rooted in astonishment, fear, and awe. For Burke, it is the most powerful aesthetic emotion we can have.

What is the history of the Sublime?

British writers, taking the Grand Tour in the 17th and 18th centuries, first used the sublime to describe objects of nature. The development of the concept of the sublime as an aesthetic quality in nature distinct from beauty was first brought into prominence in the 18th century in the writings of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, ...

What are the best books on Sublime theory?

Routledge, 2006. Shusterman, R. ‘Somaesthetics and Burke’s Sublime’. British Journal of Aesthetics, Vol. 45, No. 4, October 2005: 323–341. Sircello, Guy, ‘How is a Theory of the Sublime Possible?’ The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Autumn 1993): 541–550. Schopenhauer, Arthur. The World as Will and Representation. Volume I.

What is the concept of the sublime?

In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublīmis) is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.

What is sublime according to Longinus?

Longinus defines the literary sublime as "excellence in language", the "expression of a great spirit" and the power to provoke "ecstasy" in one's readers.

What does Kant mean by the sublime?

Kant describes the sublime as a feeling that arises when we are aware of divine experiences – or what he calls a priori knowledge: universal validity, independent of experience.

What did the sublime mean to the romantics?

For Romantics, the sublime is a meeting of the subjective-internal (emotional) and the objective-external (natural world): we allow our emotions to overwhelm our rationality as we experience the wonder of creation.

Why is the sublime important?

In simple terms, the sublime in literature is every instance where we reach a threshold of ambiguity. Whenever we (vicariously, through the protagonist) experience the fuzzy passage between reason and emotion, between fear and awe, or between puzzlement and understanding, the sublime is there.

What are the five sources of sublime according to Longinus?

Finally, Longinus sets out five sources of sublimity: "great thoughts, strong emotions, certain figures of thought and speech, noble diction, and dignified word arrangement".

Who gave theory on sublime?

The theory of sublime art was put forward by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful published in 1757. He defined the sublime as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling.

What according to Kant does the sublime allow us to discover?

For Kant, this experience of the irresistibility of nature's power prompts us to realize that we are weak and existentially insignificant in the grand scheme of nature. And yet, it also reveals that we transcend nature as moral agents and systematic knowers.

Can a person be sublime?

More figuratively, a somewhat old-fashioned verb meaning of sublime refers to the act of elevating something to a more venerable, refined, or wholesome state. This use suggests that a person or object that was once either average or inferior in some way has been transformed into something of higher worth.

What is the sublime power of nature?

Edmund Burke's Philosophical Enquiry (1757) connected the sublime with experiences of awe, terror and danger. Burke saw nature as the most sublime object, capable of generating the strongest sensations in its beholders. This Romantic conception of the sublime proved influential for several generations of artists.

What does being in the presence of the sublime make us feel?

The Sublime refers to an experience of vastness (of space, age, time) beyond calculation or comprehension – a sense of awe we might feel before an ocean, a glacier, the earth from a plane or a starry sky. In the presence of the sublime, we are made to feel desperately small.

What is the sublime in the 19th century?

In the late 18th and early 19th century, an artist movement called Romanticism became obsessed with the imagination and inspiration. But, above all, the sublime. In art, sublime refers to 'the aesthetic of immeasurable greatness.

What according to Longinus is the most important source of sublime?

Answer. According to longinus the most important source of sublime is a lofty cast of mind.

What according to Longinus are the vices of sublime?

Longinus distinguishes the true Sublime from the False Sublime, and says that the vices of the Sublime emerge out of two things—”lack of passion and sincerity, and inadequacy of communication caused by faulty technique.” He has repeatedly warned the readers “against bombast, puerility on affectation, and conceits of ...

Which of the following is an example of sublimity according to Longinus?

Aeneid​ is an example of sublimity according to Longinus.

Who wrote Peri Hypsous on the sublime?

This book is not as comprehensive as its title might suggest. It offers an interpretation of Peri Hypsous, "On the Sublime," by "pseudo-Longinus," the first- or third-century author whose work, unmentioned by other ancients, was found in a tenth-century manuscript, published in Italy in 1554, and then translated into English and French in ...

What is more pleasant to the fancy than to enlarge itself by degrees?

. . when it compares the body of a man to the bulk of the whole earth, the earth to the circle it describes around the sun, that circle to the sphere of fixed stars, the sphere of the fixed stars to the circuit of the whole creation

Can aesthetic experience bridge the gap between classes?

It suggests that taste and aesthetic experience can bridge the gap between classes in a society, even though for other reasons such classes are bound to exist.

Who created the sublime?

The concept of the sublime emerged in Europe with the birth of literary criticism in the late 17th century. It was associated with the works of the French writer s Pierre Corneille, Jean-Baptiste Racine, Jean-Baptiste l'Abbé Dubos, and Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux.

What is the British description of the sublime?

The British description of the sublime has been described as distinct from the Kantian conceptualization, which emphasized a detachment of aesthetic judgment. The British tradition is noted for its rejection of the idea that aesthetic judgment and ethical conduct are not connected. One of its positions holds that the affective register of the sublime is not divorced from the standards that govern human conduct and that it does not transcend ethical conduct.

What is the effect of sublimity on the body?

Burke's treatise is also notable for focusing on the physiological effects of sublimity, in particular the dual emotional quality of fear and attraction that other authors noted. Burke described the sensation attributed to sublimity as a negative pain, which he denominated "delight" and which is distinct from positive pleasure. "Delight" is thought to result from the removal of pain, caused by confronting a sublime object, and supposedly is more intense than positive pleasure. Though Burke's explanations for the physiological effects of sublimity, e. g. tension resulting from eye strain, were not seriously considered by later authors, his empirical method of reporting his own psychological experience was more influential, especially in contrast to the analysis of Immanuel Kant. Burke is also distinguished from Kant in his emphasis on the subject's realization of his physical limitations rather than any supposed sense of moral or spiritual transcendence.

What is the sublime in Kant's critique of judgment?

Kant claims, "We call that sublime which is absolutely great " (§ 25). He distinguishes between the "remarkable differences" of the Beautiful and the Sublime, noting that beauty "is connected with the form of the object", having "boundaries", while the sublime "is to be found in a formless object", represented by a "boundlessness" (§ 23). Kant evidently divides the sublime into the mathematical and the dynamical, where in the mathematical "aesthetical comprehension" is not a consciousness of a mere greater unit, but the notion of absolute greatness not inhibited with ideas of limitations (§ 27). The dynamically sublime is "nature considered in an aesthetic judgment as might that has no dominion over us", and an object can create a fearfulness "without being afraid of it" (§ 28). He considers both the beautiful and the sublime as "indefinite" concepts, but where beauty relates to the "Understanding", sublime is a concept belonging to "Reason", and "shows a faculty of the mind surpassing every standard of Sense" (§ 25). For Kant, one's inability to grasp the magnitude of a sublime event such as an earthquake demonstrates inadequacy of one's sensibility and imagination. Simultaneously, one's ability to subsequently identify such an event as singular and whole indicates the superiority of one's cognitive, supersensible powers. Ultimately, it is this "supersensible substrate," underlying both nature and thought, on which true sublimity is located.

What is sublime in art?

In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublīmis) is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.

What did Kant say about the sublime?

He held that the sublime was of three kinds: the noble, the splendid, and the terrifying.

What is the significance of Addison's concept of the sublime?

The significance of Addison's concept of the sublime is that the three pleasures of the imagination that he identified—greatness, uncommonness, and beauty—"arise from visible objects"; that is, from sight rather than from rhetoric.

What is the sublime?

The sublime causes the passion known as astonishment. This is “that state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror.”

Why is Burke's sublime effect so impressive?

While Burke prefers that grand buildings are dark and gloomy on the inside, he admits that sublime effects are all about upsetting expectations, which is why at night it might be more impressive if we come out of the evening’s darkness into a brightly illuminated room.

What is the sublime rooted in?

Edmund Burke argued that the sublime is rooted in astonishment, fear, and awe. For Burke, it is the most powerful aesthetic emotion we can have.

What does Burke say about smells?

Burke spends little time on smells and taste, but observes in passing that “intolerable stenches” might in some cases be sublime, but are also likely to be merely odious.

What are the minor subcategories of astonishment?

Burke adds that the minor subcategories of astonishment are admiration, reverence, and respect.

What animals are sublime?

As long as we’re not in immediate danger of death or injury, we can find frightening experiences sublime. Some animals (e.g., tigers and lions) are naturally sublime. The ocean’s hidden depths are also sublime, or at least more impressive than an open plain.

Which is more likely to be obscure: words or paintings?

Words are more likely to be obscure than paintings, which provide more clarity.

Who was the philosopher who discovered the idea of sublime and beautiful?

In “A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” (1757) the Irish political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke noted ...

Where does the word "sublime" come from?

The word “sublime” may seem rather outmoded — etymologically it comes from the Latin sublimis (elevated; lofty; sublime) derived from the preposition sub, here meaning “up to,” and, some sources state, limen, the threshold, surround or lintel of a doorway, while others refer to limes, a boundary or limit.

What is the sublime artist?

The sublime artist was, according to Longinus, a kind of superhuman figure capable of rising above arduous and ominous events and experiences in order to produce a nobler and more refined style.

What are the three sublimity?

He characterized three types of sublimity — the awful, the lofty, and the splendid — and continued and deepened the shift of focus initiated by Burke, by asserting that the sublime was not so much a formal quality of some natural phenomenon as a subjective conception: something that happens in the mind.

What is the meaning of sublimis?

In the Middle Ages sublimis was modified into a verb, sublimare (to elevate), commonly used by alchemists to describe the purifying process by which substances turn into a gas on being subjected to heat , then cool and become a newly transformed solid.

What is the passion of the sublime?

The passion caused by the great and sublime in nature, when those causes operate most powerfully is Astonishment, and astonishment is that state of the soul in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror … No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. For fear, being an apprehension of pain or death, operates in a manner that resembles actual pain. Whatever therefore is terrible, with regard to sight, is sublime too … Indeed terror is in all cases whatsoever, either more openly or latently, the ruling principle of the sublime.

Who said the sublime is the way the daemon within man reveals itself?

Friedrich Schiller claimed in “On the Sublime” (1801) that while the beautiful is valuable only with reference to the human being, the sublime is the way the “daemon” within man reveals itself. Friedrich Hegel, in his “Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion” (1827) also contested Kant’s essentially negative interpretation.

Which philosopher believed that the sublime was satisfying?

The sublime was held to be satisfying either, as for Edmund Burke, in virtue of of the pleasurable nature of the terror that it arouses, or, as for Kant, in virtue of its intimation of a capacity of the mind to apprehend the limitless or indeterminable.

What is sublime in Kant's philosophy?

Artworks. German, Philosophers. Kant and the Sublime. The sublime is at the heart of Kant’s aesthetic philosophy. Kant defines sublime as that is beyond all comparison (that is absolutely) great, either mathematically in terms of limitless magnitude, or dynamically in terms of limitless power. This is the standard meaning, derived from Kant.

What is sublime used for?

The term ‘sublime’ is used to designate natural objects that inspire a kind of awed terror through sheer immensity.

Who created the Sublime Theory?

Edmund Burke created the Sublime Theory in the mid-18th century, defining Sublime art as “art that alludes to a magnificence beyond all capacity of measurement, assessment, or reproduction.” He described the Sublime as an aesthetic impact that produces the most powerful sensation the intellect is aware of experiencing. “Whatever is in any way awful, is acquainted with dreadful objects, or acts in a manner comparable to horror, is a wellspring of the Sublime,” he wrote.

What is sublime based on?

Kant’s Sublime, which is based on our relationship with creation and our logical reaction to it, was converted as a sort of “art theology” into German Romanticism. It was the beginning of an age in which “the self and the world separated.” Romantic painters frequently used their encounters with the environment or natural occurrences to express the Sublime feeling.

How did Sublime succeed?

The Sublime artist succeeded in communicating the Sublime through purely abstract methods, in our inability to discover a sensible interpretation for Black Square and in the discontentment one feels in that circumstance, an achievement that would elevate successive artists, such as Americans Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt, to develop their own variants of it.

What did sublime artists seek to create?

Sublime artists sought to create art that captured the wonder, fear, sheer immensity, and majesty felt at these spectacular locations, which many Americans had never seen firsthand.

What was the sublime art movement?

The Sublime art movement consisted of many smaller schools that could be found in various regions across the globe. Romantic artists embraced Sublime landscapes. As did the French and British and the Americans.

What did Kant's sublime have an impact on?

Kant’s concepts of the Sublime were not widely adopted by philosophers, but they had a significant impact on later writings and aesthetic thought.

What is the theme of the sublime?

The theme of terror and mortality is central to the investigation of the Sublime. “Whatever is suited in any way to stimulate the thoughts of agony and peril, that is to state whatever is in any way truly awful is a basis of the Sublime; that is to say, it is generative of the deepest feeling which the soul is capable of experiencing,” Edmund Burke stated.

How to describe the sublime?

Another way to describe the sublime is through what it is not. In sections 3-5, Longinus suggests that when people try to be sublime, but fail, they produce a kind of foolish bombast. It’s like a high-school band trying to sound like a symphony orchestra. The result is bathos (from the Greek word for depth), where a passage aims for grandeur yet ends in anti-climax.

What is the struggle of Longinus in On the Sublime?

In "On the Sublime," Longinus struggles with defining the sublime. He often comes close to creating a tautology or praising deliberate mistakes.

What is tautology in science?

A tautology is a circular definition. If you say that the sublime is something grand or elevated, you’ve used a tautology. It doesn’t help to just provide synonyms. We need more specific criteria.

What does Longinus argue about art?

Longinus argues that Nature is not entirely lawless and that we only learn what is truly natural from Art. This sounds rather clever, but it is the oldest trick in the book. Later Alexander Pope will push this line of reasoning to its extreme, arguing that the rules of art are natural (a view the Romantics will turn on its head).

Is it difficult to define the sublime?

It is obviously very difficult to define the sublime. However, this overview of the challenges Longinus faced is not meant to disparage his achievement. Longinus gives us clear categories for analyzing the sublime. For instance, we can all agree that greatness of thought and passionate language are important hallmarks, even as we might quibble about what exactly constitutes a great soul. As long as we’re aware of the difficulty of coming up with a precise definition we won’t believe that we have settled once and for all what exactly is sublime.

Is the sublime swelling?

This is useful terminology, though it might be pointed out that the sublime is a kind of swelling too. Similarly, Longinus criticizes an author for his use of confused imagery (3.1), yet this is also a hallmark of sublimity! So how do we distinguish between what is healthy and what looks like dropsy? What makes a poetic device absurd or a passage too emotional? Is this a matter of opinion, or can we all agree that something like a soap opera or a Thomas Kinkadepainting is not truly sublime?

Who made the connection between the sublime and fear?

The connection between the sublime and fear is made repeatedly by both Kant and Burke; it is that connection which will bring us back full circle to those a priori principles, that link the sublime to morality. To quote Freud yet again:

What is Burke's philosophical inquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful?

In his own words, Burke’s Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful is an “examination of our passions in our breasts.”. As he associates it with selfpreservation, it follows that for Burke, the sublime is the more important of the two aesthetic categories.

What does "astonishment" mean in Kant's definition of "reverence"?

We are humans, inadequate to the task of according God the admiration, reverence and respect He commands of us; astonishment is the response elicited by our recognising that inadequacy.”. Though it was certainly not meant to, Kant’s definition of ‘reverence’ can be taken to support that very point.

Who wrote the critique of judgment?

In the first introduction to his Critique of Judgment, Immanuel Kant levels a criticism of Burke which is precisely the opposite of the relativist’s; Kant charges that Burke does not go far enough. “Empirical psychology”, writes Kant,

Who disagreed with Freud on the matter of God's existence?

Burke would have disagreed with Freud on the matter of God’s existence. In one section of the Enquiry Burke writes: “Our Creator has designed that we should be united by the bond of sympathy; he has strengthened that bond by a proportionable delight.” (Burke , p.42).

Does Burke say God's will is intelligible to man?

For Burke, it is not sufficient to state that God’s ways are mysterious and that if He endows us with ambition, He must have his reasons. No; ambition must be linked to ‘progress’ to make it palatable to the enlightened; God’s will is intelligible to man: He wants progress.

What is the sublime in writing?

The concept of the sublime is generally accepted to refer to a style of writing that elevates itself "above the ordinary". Finally, Longinus sets out five sources of sublimity: "great thoughts, strong emotions, certain figures of thought and speech, noble diction, and dignified word arrangement".

What is the meaning of "on the sublime"?

On the Sublime (Greek: Περì Ὕψους Perì Hýpsous; Latin: De sublimitate) is a Roman-era Greek work of literary criticism dated to the 1st century AD. Its author is unknown, but is conventionally referred to as Longinus ( / lɒnˈdʒaɪnəs /; Ancient Greek: Λογγῖνος Longĩnos) or Pseudo-Longinus. It is regarded as a classic work on aesthetics and the effects of good writing. The treatise highlights examples of good and bad writing from the previous millennium, focusing particularly on what may lead to the sublime.

What does Longinus say about the sublime?

The sublime. Longinus critically applauds and condemns certain literary works as examples of good or bad styles of writing. Longinus ultimately promotes an "elevation of style" and an essence of "simplicity".

What does Longinus say about social subjectivity?

As for social subjectivity, Longinus acknowledges that complete liberty promotes spirit and hope; according to Longinus, "never did a slave become an orator". On the other hand, too much luxury and wealth leads to a decay in eloquence—eloquence being the goal of the sublime writer.

Who translated Longinus on the Sublime?

18th century - William Smith's 1739 translation of Longinus on the Sublime established the translator and once more brought the work into prominence. Longinus' text reaches its height in popularity. In England, critics esteem Longinus' principles of composition and balance second only to Aristotle 's Poetics.

Who wrote the philosophical inquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful?

Edmund Burke 's A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful and Immanuel Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment owe a debt to Longinus' concept of the sublime, and the category passes into intellectual discourse.

Who wrote the Sublime Effects?

The original work is attributed to "Dionysius Longinus" and most European countries receive translations of the treatise. 17th century - Sublime effects become a desired end of much Baroque art and literature, and the rediscovered work of "Longinus" goes through half a dozen editions in the 17th century.

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Ancient philosophy

Modern philosophy

Contemporary philosophy

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