Sunday, February 10, 2013

Tragedy, Sublimity, Music

According to Kant, in #52 of the Critique of Judgment, tragic verses present an "exhibition" of Sublimity.  But, in his system, Sublimity is a product of Reflective Judgment.  Thus, his concept of the relation between Tragedy and Sublimity is mediated by Reflective Judgment, with Sublimity extrinsic to the events to which it is attributed..  In contrast, according to Nietzsche, those verses are born out of Music, the Schopenhauerian concept of which, that Nietzsche accepts, ix an expression of Genius.  Now, as has been previously argued here, Genius is itself Sublime, i. e. independent of subsequent judgment.  Thus, according to Nietzsche, Sublimity is a dynamic intrinsic factor in Tragedy, with respect to which Kant's concept of their relation is superficial.

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