Schelling Chosakushu 2 (Collected works by Schelling 2: Schelling, System of Transcendental Idealism)

This is a translation of a book by Schelling, who is a major figure in classical German philosophy alongside Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. In this book, Schelling’s discussion extends beyond theoretical and practical philosophy into teleology and the philosophy of art. As Schelling states, “art is the sole true and eternal organon as well as document of philosophy.” In other words, “to engage in philosophy, it is necessary to rely on art. Art is the means by which philosophical activity is communicated to the masses.” Although some may question whether Schelling overstates the importance of art, I believe that Schelling’s discussion on art centers on an extremely important point. As an expert in aesthetics, my goal is to explore the appeal of Schelling’s book from the standpoint of aesthetics and the philosophy of art.
 
Can it not be said that art, its best sense, is an endeavor whose goal is not to present what we already know in readily understandable ways but, rather, to explore the perceptual world while intervening in it? For example, the figurative arts enrich the world that we see by actively intervening in and transforming elements of that world; music enriches the world that we hear by actively intervening in and creating sounds in that world. In other words, the figurative arts pursue the possibilities of seeing and explore the visual world, while music pursues the possibilities of hearing and explores the audible world. If this is indeed the case, following Schelling’s lead, art can be considered a type of philosophical endeavor.
 
Schelling goes on to explain that artistic creation “begins with consciousness and ends in the unconscious.” In other words, whereas artistic creation arises from the creative intentions of the artist, works of art take on meaning beyond these intentions. Works of art whose intentions are too transparent are patently uninteresting. There’s no benefit in viewing such pieces more than once. In contrast, so-called masterpieces make us want to view them again and again and reveal something different every time. As Schelling states, the true enriching nature of art lies in the fact that “each work of art is susceptible of infinite interpretation.” Once completed, a work of art can take on meanings that the artist himself/herselfcould not even have imagined. In Schelling’s words, the artist “feels himself/herself surprised and blessed” by a work that they have created and “regard it as though it were a freely bestowed favor of a higher nature that has by means of it made the impossible possible.” Returning to the first point above, this is because art is an act of exploration.
 
My current understanding of Schelling is the result of reading Schelling over the course of forty-some years since first encountering System of Transcendental Idealism. It is an understanding that I could not even have imagined when I first started reading Schelling. Herein lies the joy of reading a true classic.
 

(Written by OTABE Tanehisa, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2023)