'An aphorism, properly stamped and molded, has not been "deciphered" when it has simply been read; rather one has then to begin its interpretation, for which is required an art of interpretation.' -- Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morals'
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'An aphorism, properly stamped and molded, has not been "deciphered" when it has simply been read; rather one has then to begin its interpretation, for which is required an art of interpretation.' -- Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morals'
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Hegel: natural beauty
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June 27, 2008
Hegel, in the opening of the Lectures on Aesthetics, says that the sensuous objects produced by art, or indeed any product of the spirit, must always outstrip any of the beauties of nature in philosophical
significance:
For artistic beauty is beauty born and reborn out of spirit, and in as much as spirit and its productions stand higher than nature and its appearances, so is artistic beauty higher than the beauty of nature. Indeed, when considered formally, even a bad idea, in the way it goes through a person’s head, is higher than any product of nature, for in such ideas or notions spirit and freedom are always present. For example: in its content, of course, the sun appears as an absolutely necessary moment, while an askew notion appears accidental and, in passing, disappears; but taken in itself such a natural existence as the sun is indifferent, in itself not free or self-aware, and when we consider it in the context of its necessity with other things, so do we not consider it in itself and thus not as beautiful.
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"Indeed, when considered formally, even a bad idea, in the way it goes through a person’s head, is higher than any product of nature, for in such ideas or notions spirit and freedom are always present."
Interesting, but im not sure that every impression or idea going through my head is a product of 'freedom'. This is an assumption, and since this assumption of 'freedom' is the premise to the conclusion of 'higher significance', i'm not sure the conclusion can be granted!