Is The Sublime In Terror More Real Than In Art?

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Recommended: A philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful edmund burke

Thesis:
Is the sublime in terror more real than in art?

Chapter 1.

At the beginning of this research it is prudent that we must define the term “sublime” both in a historical sense and by the terms of contemporary art. Historically the sublime theory is related to Burke, Kant, and Lyotard, and their writings. Refering to great philosophers of the 18th century and earlier, we must say that Edmund Burke at his book ”Α philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” (1757) defines the sublime as “whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger… Whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror”. By provoking great emotions such as terror and excitement to the audience, the sublime according to Burke was a great, infinite or …show more content…

“On the other hand, Kant in his “Critique of Judgment” (1790) explains further the term by categorizing the perceptual qualities of the sublime. Kant focuses also to the meaning of beautiful and claims that sublime has a contradictory meaning to “beautiful”. Beautiful is non-quantifiable whereas sublime is more infinite and can be found in objects without form. Sublime for Kant is “a presentation of an indeterminate concept of reason”. In addition, the two philosophers basically disagree on the relationship between terror and sublime. Burke argues that sublime arises from terror, whereas Kant says that an object can be sublime without causing fear, connecting the object to the rational mind .During the 19th century the grand painting presented nature and landscapes of greatness, whereas during the ‘70s and ‘80s the expression of sublime became wider as the new media art offered new possibilities. (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/the-sublime/rina-arya-bill-viola-and-the-sublime-r1141441Q Rina Arya ). It is important to note

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