Cassirer, Expression, and Schopenhauer

Cassirer's Kantianism is acknowledged and widely-recognized--the main feature of his Philosophy, 'Symbolic Forms', is explicitly derived from Kant's 'Schematism', and from the Critique of Judgement, which Cassirer regards as an elaboration of the Schematism. Less appreciated is how another of Cassirer's important notions, 'Expression', illuminates Schopenhauerian neo-Kantianism. For Cassirer, Expression is the essence of Experience, as demonstrated by Mythical consciousness. The latter, according to him, precedes any differentiation into specific gods, which implies that even Nietzsche's Dionysus-Apollo dichotomy represents a derivative stage of Myth. But, that dichotomy is based on Schopenhauer's Will vs. Representation interpretation of Kant's In-Itself vs. Appearance contrast, one underpinned by unitary Schematism. Hence, from the perspective of Cassirer's theory of Experience as Expression, Schopenhauer's dualism is a derivative, not a fundamental, theory of Experience, which, furthermore, undoes the accomplishment of the Critique of Judgement. Now, Schopenhauer momentarily seems to recover that underlying unity--for him, Music is neither Will nor Representation, but an 'objectification' of the latter, a dynamic, yet structured, process. However, he quickly relapses into dualism, by placing emphasis on a contemplative mode of experiencing Music, a dualism which Nietzsche naively, at least at the outset, perpetuates.